


The magic of this world

by HeddaGab



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Beach Holidays, Blackmail, Christmas, Cooking, Curtain Fic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, First Time, Grief/Mourning, Hospitals, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Magical Realism, Massage, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Outdoor Sex, Panic Attacks, Parenthood, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Quiet Sex, Romance, Smut, body image issues, natural death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2020-11-01 01:36:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 124,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20806301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeddaGab/pseuds/HeddaGab
Summary: Gold and the Evil Queen leave Storybrooke to start from scratch, together. Two tired people who want to live life differently, to find in each other something that they always lacked; Having gone through many trials and losses, they learn to appreciate the simple joys of life. Will they be able to overcome their past and become happy?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Магия этого мира](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/523418) by GoldenGirls. 

> I'm translating with the author's permission a multichaptered [Golden Queen fic](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6807935/17383278#part_content) they created a while back.  
Comments are welcomed as usual.  
If you want to reach the author directly you can find them at their [ Tumblr](https://goldenqueen4ever.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/OksanaKa5) where you can also find their graphics and illustrations for the fic.  
A trailer created for the fic can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfltQT4AJ3w&feature=youtu.be)
> 
> As the chapters progress, there's bound to be some time gaps between the events occuring from a chapter to another. If you think the rating should be bumped up to Explicit for some reason or something's missing from the tags, let me know.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story and our efforts. Have fun!

“You did not use it!” Angry, the Queen barged into Gold's shop.

“Regina was right! You used me only to get rid of Zelena!”

“Don't be silly,” Gold said as he put the powder box under the counter. “Yes, I want to get rid of Zelena. She killed Bae. And we both know that only two people here can repay her in the same way: you and me. Since I'm out of the game, then you are the only one left. You are the only one who can avenge the death of my son. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on you, but I've been waiting for this for too long.”

“She's my sister,” the Queen hissed.

“Come on, what kind of sister is she to you?” Gold grimaced."You didn’t know her your whole life. And then she came and took away your beloved Robin, who died through her fault, just like my son. By the way, have I mentioned already that she tried to kill you in your castle? When I started teaching you both?”

“What?” The Queen was bewildered.

“She didn't hesitate to stick a razor at your throat,” Gold smiled. “Good it was me then, not you.”

“To hell with Zelena! You did not use it." the Queen repeated, coming closer. “Let me guess why: She pulled another speech about a man in a monster or what she was still seeing in you? Even if today you are who she wants to see you as, how long will it last? She does not love you! She doesn't need you! And now that you have left your child to her, she will do everything so that you never ever see him. And you will be left alone again! Do you still love her?”

“No.” Gold shook his head.

“No?” the Queen raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Then why didn't you take your child from her?”

“Because I know how it feels,” the wizard answered quietly “to lose a child. I cannot do it. I can't do this to her.”

“Because you still love her!” The Queen leaned on the counter, facing Gold.

“No,” he covered her palms with his, “because no one deserves such a fate.”

“How good you are” the Queen grinned."Do you think she will be just as kind to you? Do you think she will appreciate your gesture? Hell no! You’ll see, she will make you never see your son again.”

“I'll come up with something,” he closed his eyes, tired, resting his forehead on the Queen's shoulder. “There is still time.”

“And it works against you,” the Queen softened a little and kissed him lightly on his forehead. “Every day, every hour, every minute, she searches for a way to leave you with nothing.”

“I can't do this, I know how it feels,” he repeated, staggering a little.

“What's the matter?” A Queen who had lost her rage looked at him with concern.

“It's okay.” he walked away from the counter, took a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from somewhere off the shelf, splashed a little into each and put one in front of the Queen: “Will you?”

Having taken a sip, the Queen walked around the counter. “You make a big mistake,” she put her hands on his shoulders, “and you know that. You’re white as a sheet.” she ran a hand over his forehead and cheek. “I think you should lie down.”

“Perhaps,” he caught her hand and kissed it, “but only if it is with you.”

“This option is also possible,” the Queen smiled, dragging him along in the back room.

***

“Well, maybe you can't, but I still can,” the Queen got up from the couch and picked up her dress from the floor. "Hush, hush ..." she leaned over and carefully kissed the shoulder of a tossing and turning Gold in the middle of a dream. "Hush, all is well, shhhh ..." she hugged him, holding him tightly until he relaxed in her arms and fell back into a deep sleep. “Everything will be fine.”

***

Gold returned to the shop completely hollow. How could this have happened? His wife hated him so much that she abandoned her own child, only so he could never see him again. He couldn’t fathom it. He barely managed to put the key into the lock, his head was spinning. How right the Queen had been, and what an idiot he was! Now everything was useless and hopeless. Despite his bravado there, at the Fairies’ home, he realized that he would never find this child. He had lost him, just like he had lost Bae - history repeated itself. Without turning on the lights, he went into the back room, where he was blinded by the bright light of the lamp suddenly switching on.

“Look who came,” he heard a gentle female voice. “This is your daddy. He is home.” In his chair, at the table, the Queen was sitting with the baby in her arms. “Come here,” she smiled.

"I don't understand ..." Gold approached her. “This ... Is this my son?”

“Our son”, she handed the baby over to him. “Do you want to hold him?”

“But how?” barely holding back the trembling, he took the child in his arms and pressed it on him.

"Well, did you really believe that the Blue Fairy took the child away?", the Queen laughed. "Do you really think that I would let this happen? After I accelerated the pregnancy of our dear Belle, I watched very closely everything that was transpiring. And so when she asked for Blue ... I realized that this was my chance. Reul Ghorm is now somewhere outside of Storybrooke, looking for a way home. The pirate who ran to look for her, met me instead in the hallway. A touching scene of farewell, and your son has left Belle forever at her own request. And, at her request, he goes where a real family and a happy life await him”

“I don't know what to say,” the wizard held his son with one hand and with the other he hugged the Queen, gently kissing her forehead.

"Say I don't need to kill my sister." She tensed a little.

"To hell with your sister! Let's get out of here. Let's get married.” He pressed her on him. “It's time for us to find our happy ending.”

“Are we leaving? And let's just simply not even remember Belle?” The Queen asked mockingly.

“Never!” Gold kissed her on the lips. "Only you, me and our son."


	2. Chapter 2

“Are we being hasty?” The Queen walked nervously up and down the balcony of the hotel room.

“Regina, what came over you?” Gold, who was standing near a carved white railing with a cup of coffee in his hands and still admiring the sea, turned to her. “It seems like last night we both wanted it. What happened today? You’re not yourself all morning.”

“Tell me honestly, why do you need this wedding?” She leaned on the railing next to him, looking into the distance. “You have loved only your dear Belle for so many years. And now what? Has everything changed in one moment? Did you suddenly love me wholeheartedly? So much so that everything starts anew? I doubt it. I don’t know if you are doing it out of revenge, out of gratitude or to forget her, but I don’t care about any of these options.”

“Now, don't start again,” he took her by the shoulders. “You and I have discussed my relationship with Belle more than once. And to be honest, I don’t feel like going back to this conversation again. Just forget about her already. I want you to be my wife because I want to be with you. This is the only reason. And I really want to start all over again.”

“Yes, that's why you are fulfilling her dreams with me,” the Queen said sarcastically. “Baby Belle always wanted to travel, to see the world,” she said in a chant. “So just look around!” she added. “Storybrooke is far behind, and in front of us lays the sunny Santorini. Dreams Come True! Or did we run away from Storybrooke so that no one would see you with me?”

“We ran away from Storybrooke because I needed a break,” Gold answered calmly. “I think you did too.” A little time for ourselves. You know, so that no one knocks on our door several times a day with complaints, requests, and a showdown. Do you want all this? Then today even we can return to Storybrooke and quarrel with all its inhabitants for days on end. I can’t say that I dream about it, but I am ready to do it for you. If you feel better about it, we can walk along the main street every day. But frankly, I don’t understand what’s wrong with avoiding it whenever possible. Indeed, look: in front of you is the sunny Santorini, you are free, you are no longer dependent on your half, you can do whatever you want. And you want to get back to skirmishes with our beautiful heroes? Curse daily with Belle? And she will visit us daily; I can tell you this without the gift of foresight. Is that the life you need?”

“Or we could burn this little town along with its inhabitants,” Regina poisonously remarked, “then return to the Enchanted Forest and rule there together.”

“Well, you know, maybe you're right,” he looked thoughtfully at her. “Perhaps I really am hasty.”

“Oh, really!” The Queen laughed nervously.

“Maybe this relationship means more to me than it does to you,” Gold continued calmly. “When you appeared, everything changed. As if the veil was raised. And, you know, I decided that here it is - my chance for a new life. Grab it and run. But of course, this will not work if all this is one-sided. All I want is to be with you. Create a new family. Start from scratch. Leave for a place where no one knows us and will not get on our nerves. And I was hoping you’d want it too. That you too are tired of endless wars and that you needed me. But if you just need an ally, I'm sorry, that's not me.”

“I don't believe you,” the sarcasm in her voice had almost disappeared. “Why would you fall in love with me so suddenly?”

“I want to show you something,” he squeezed her shoulder a little and went into the room. After a couple of minutes, Gold returned with a small gray stone in his hand and with a cup of boiling water. “Have a sit.” he nodded towards the wicker chair and set the cup on the white openwork table at the balcony.

“What is it?” Regina sat down.

“Remembering.” Gold dropped the stone into the cup. The water immediately became cloudy and spun into a whirlpool. A minute later, the funnel disappeared, and the water became clear again.

“This is a world without magic.” the Queen watched the water warily. “How was that possible?”

“You can't create magic here, but some magic artifacts work” he sat down at the table, opposite her. “Hope this one does too. Give it a try.” She drank from the cup and, startled, dropped it from her hands. Her head was spinning, images from the past flashed before her eyes.

*** 

“What are you doing here, dearie?” The Dark One glanced up from his grimoire and looked with interest at the student who timidly entered his office. “I haven’t scheduled you for today. Your lesson is tomorrow.”

“I know,” Regina remained at the door. “But I ... I came for a different reason.”

“What is it?” The wizard was surprised.

“My mother, she insists on my marriage with King Leopold,” his guest said erratically, “and I can’t resist her in any way ...”

“This is because you are too idle, dearie” the teacher interrupted her. “If you worked harder, you might have already been able to stand up to Cora.”

“That probably is it,” Regina nodded, calmly accepting his rebuke. “But now I can do nothing, and I need help!”

“I wonder what kind”, the Dark One said amused. “You do not think that I will undertake settling your family affairs?”

“No” the princess shook her head, “that's not the point. Just, you see ...” she hesitated, choosing her words. “I never ... I ... I never knew a man ... This is what is most valued in marriage. And I do not want my first night to be with the king. I want my mother to blush when the king finds out that I am no longer a virgin.”

“Well, this is a fun plan,” the magician chuckled, “but I still don't understand what you want from me.”

“I thought you could ...” Regina blushed “being my teacher ... that you could teach me more than magic.” she finished with difficulty.

“You're not… confusing me with someone else, dearie?” the Dark one was amazed. “Find yourself a pretty little cowboy. In your kingdom there are a great many who would want to help you in such a matter. When is your wedding there? In six months? You still have time.”

“No, It is impossible!” she blushed even more. “I can’t go to bed with the first that comes along!”

“Well, then, find yourself some viscount or someone else,” the wizard shrugged. “Don’t you have any other acquaintances besides me?”

“There are no people I can trust,” Regina answered, looking down.

“And me, then? You can?” The Dark One raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” the girl nodded slightly. “Please help me!”

“Go home, dearie.” He suddenly stood by her side and lifted her face up by the chin. “And never come to me again with such requests. Find someone who provides this type of service.” He snapped his fingers, and Regina found herself behind the gates of the Dark Castle.

“Ridiculous!” The mage grumbled, returning to his book. “Who does she even take me for?!”

But from that day on, against his own will, he gradually began to look closer at his student. Noticing whatever he had not looked at before. Her slender ankles and wrists now occupied his attention for a long time. The light movements of her hands. Her mischievous smile increasingly made him forget about his severity. Once, he caught himself letting a question of hers pass by, simply by looking at her collarbone.

“How's your plan going?” He asked her once.

“What plan?” Regina was confused.

“Well, that idea of yours to annoy Cora.” the wizard specified, angry with himself over this question.

“No.” she averted her eyes. “I wanted it to be you, but if not, then no.”

“Why me?” the wizard stared at the princess.

“I don’t know,” Regina looked even more downwards. “You are my teacher, and I ... I feel some kind of closeness between us. At least, it seems to me. It seemed ... Sorry, I shouldn't have”, she covered her face with her hands.

“Being close to me has not brought anyone any good yet,” the Dark One grinned, gently stroking her cheek. “Believe me, girl.”

And then she raised her head and kissed him. Gusty and gentle. “I'm sorry,” she stayed close, looking at him at the same time, frightened and trusting.

In response, he hugged her and kissed her back. Not at all like her. For a really long time, savoring every moment of this kiss, sinking deeper and deeper into her lips.

“We will both regret it,” the sorcerer sighed, finally breaking away from her. He waved his hand, and they disappeared into clouds of bluish smoke, a moment later finding themselves in a spacious bed in the sorcerer’s bedroom.

“I didn’t think you had a bedroom,” the princess sat down and looked around.

“Well, personally, I prefer to do this in a torture chamber, but women, as a rule, are against this venture” the Dark One sighed, sitting down next to her. “So you have to make concessions.”

“Oh, I ... I didn’t mean ...” the girl said slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, dearie!” the magician encouraged her. “Everyone always thinks like you, that besides them, there has never been anyone here. I’m making such an impression.” He touched her shoulder and she shuddered and cringed.

“Are you afraid of me?” He removed his hand and, lowering his head, looked right at her face.

“No, off course not.” muttered Regina and lowered her eyes. “Not at all.”

“I was joking about the torture chamber.” the magician said just in case.

“I figured.” the princess nodded nervously. “It's just that I'm a little worried and I feel a little silly.”

“There’s no need.” He carefully ran a hand through her hair, tucking a lock behind her ear. “It’s only me who should feel stupid now.” He kissed her forehead. “I could restrain my sarcasm.” He said it so unexpectedly softly that Regina looked at him in amazement.

“Perhaps I am also a little worried,” the sorcerer smiled, looking at her face. “Come here,” he got into a reclining bed and pulled Regina along, laying her back on his chest. “Don't worry about anything, I won’t do anything you don’t want,” he slowly stroked her shoulders.

“And if I do something wrong?” She was still tense.

“This is impossible,” he ran his fingertips over her collarbones, barely touching them. “You can't do anything wrong,” he spoke very quietly, almost inaudibly, touching her ear with his lips.

He continued stroking her shoulders and hands, massaging them a little, whispering sweet words to her. Interlocking his fingers with hers, he massaged the hands, and then again returned to the shoulders and collarbones. Carefully, barely touching, he ran several times his fingers along her forehead, from the center to the ends, smoothing out tense muscles, kissing her lightly on it between these caressings. He did the same with his fingertips on her cheeks. Then he slid down her neck all the way to the collarbone, stroking it gently and rhythmically. His skin, shining with golden scales seemed cold and rough- in fact it turned out to be soft and warm. The pointy black claws retracted.

Closing her eyes, Regina completely surrendered to her physical sensations and pretty soon went limp in his hands, completely relaxed. Finally, she took courage and turning around she kissed his neck, drawing in his scent; as warm as his hands.

“Wait a little bit.” the magician whispered to her, laying her on the sheets next to him. “Now is not your turn.” He slid down her neck once more, using his lips this time, paving a path with kisses from the chin to the hollow above the collarbone. Agonizingly slow, enjoying every kiss, inhaling the smell of her skin. He returned upwards, kissing her behind her ears. First, on one side, then on the other. He stayed kissing behind the ears particularly long. Then once again tracing along the neck, he returned to the collarbones, kissing every centimeter of each of them, while massaging her shoulders lightly.

With a click of the fingers, he released both of them from their clothes, sinking lower and lower, still kissing her breasts slowly, while sliding his hands over her hips. Leisurely, barely touching. As he traced her calves with slightly more pressure, he ended up kissing her feet. After slowly reaching and kissing each toe, he darted back upwards, kissing behind her ear once again and then carefully, with just the tip of his finger, penetrated her with a gentle vibrating movement.

“Rumple!” the princess breathed, squeezing his hand with her hips.

“It's alright,” he whispered in her ear. “We are not in a hurry, don’t worry.” Gently pushing her hips apart, he put his hand on the clitoris, grabbing it slightly with two fingers, and began to massage it gently, while kissing Regina on the lips, on her neck, behind the ear and then back again on the lips. He made the princess feel an unfamiliar sensation of warmth and heaviness there, under his fingers. Gradually spreading, higher on the lower abdomen, lower on the hips. When she started fidgeting under his hand, he once again smoothly penetrated her with the tip of his finger but this time she leaned forward to meet it.

“What is it?” Regina suddenly fell out of the warm nirvana in which she was already swimming and she lowered her hand down, collecting moisture oozing from her on her fingers. “Is that blood?”

“No, darling” the sorcerer grinned cheerfully, “this is your desire.” He took her hand and after showing her her own fingers covered with a transparent mucous cobweb, he licked them. “It's okay” he penetrated her again with one finger, searching for the sensitive spot inside. Pretty soon his attempts were successful, and the princess groaned, wriggling under his hand, tormented by the tantalizing sensation in the groin.

“Do something” the girl moaned, clinging to the pillows on which she laid. He hung over her and, parting her hips with light movements, he entered her. First slowly and carefully, then increasing the pace and range. Regina stiffened and froze beneath him. Excitement only grew, tormenting her, and she had already begun to panic, not knowing what to do with it. But then a hot wave swept through her body, from bottom to top, stunning her. It seemed to her as if she was falling and so she clung to the shoulders of the sorcerer with all her might in order to hold on. He whispered something to her, but she couldn’t hear. Her ears throbbed, flashes passing before his eyes. Some time had went by before she regained consciousness, already completely relaxed, feeling only a warm bliss.

“God” the princess finally gasped. “It's just unbelievable! No wonder people constantly think about it.”

“I'm glad you liked it.” the wizard grinned.

“Can we do it again?” She hugged him, clinging to his chest.

“Well, not so soon, darling” he stroked her hair. “Maybe a little later.”

“Why not right now?” the princess was surprised.

“I'll explain to you later.” the sorcerer assured her. “Take a rest for now, regain your strength” He snapped his fingers and a laid table appeared next to the bed. “And then we’ll continue.”

***

Waking up, Regina saw the Dark One first thing in the morning, who looked thoughtful -and seemingly through her- laying next to her. 

“Good morning” the princess smiled, reaching out to kiss him.

“I hope you are happy, dear,” the sorcerer said indifferently, pulling away to avoid a kiss.

“Is something wrong?” Regina was confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You got what you wanted, now get dressed and go home to try on your wedding dress,” he stood up and began to dress himself.

“Yes, of course,” the girl muttered. “But listen,” she added after a pause, “what happened between us this night ... Wasn't that sincere?”

“Don't have illusions, dearie” the mage answered without looking at her. “Nothing has changed between us because of that night. I'm waiting for you to be at your lesson today at noon. Do not forget.” 

“It is not true” the princess smiled softly, putting on her dress. “You couldn’t pretend like that. You also have feelings for me.”

“Do not imagine things!” He quickly glanced at her over his shoulder and turned away again. “You don’t have them either. You just want to get back at your mom. A prolonged teenage crisis. I don’t have such a need. So this was the first and last time.”

“Well, as you please,” she buttoned her dress and headed for the exit. “See you at the lesson!”

The wizard stared after her, bewildered. Her indifference suddenly hurt him, and he could not understand why. When she didn’t come in time for the lesson, he seriously became worried.

“She does it on purpose!” the Dark One told himself, sitting at the spinning wheel and struggling with the desire to go to her castle immediately to find out what was wrong with her. When he was ready to abandon everything and just do it, Regina finally appeared.

“Sorry I’m late,” the princess apologized sincerely. “Mom found out that I didn’t spend the night at home. She was furious! I could barely break free today.”

All the sharp remarks he had prepared for her stuck in his throat. “I'm glad you're here,” the sorcerer smiled.

*** 

“Did something happen? The princess entered the sorcerer’s office. “Why did you call for me so urgently?” Their relationship, which had lasted for several months, began to develop into an extremely dangerous love affair.

“It happened.” The Dark One sat at the table, putting his elbows on the countertop and resting his forehead on the joined hands. “Come to me, sit down,” he nodded to the chair opposite himself and put his head on his hands once more.

“You’re scaring me a little,” she sat down at an armchair, leaning on the table.

“Regina,” he began without raising his head, “what is happening between us ... This was not supposed to happen,” the wizard continued, choosing his words with difficulty. “Once upon a time I lost my only son and vowed to find a way to get him back,” he paused. “And this method is you. You are the only one who can cast a dark curse that will take us all to another realm. There, where I can find my boy, Bae.” He paused again, closing his eyes. “Therefore, I need you to answer me honestly: what does our relationship mean to you?” Do you love me?”

“More than anything,” the princess answered with a smile. “I'll do anything for you.”

“That's too bad,” he took a vial from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is a potion of oblivion. We need to drink it.”

“But why?” Regina asked confused.

“The problem is that the curse comes with a price. And if you love me, then nothing will come of it. I'll never see Bae,” the wizard answered.

“And what is the price?” She twirled in her hands the bottle of potion.

“Well,” the Dark One began hesitantly, “at any another time I would lie. But you must have a choice. The price is the heart of the one you love the most.”

“But I love no one except you.” Regina said in surprise.

“That's why we need to drink this potion.” the magician nodded. “That shouldn't have happened. We need to forget everything there is between us. You need to love someone else. We both have our own goals. Do not get me wrong, the choice is yours. When we get to the finale, when the time comes to sacrifice the one you love, you can refuse it. If you are happy enough with him to forget about your revenge. But I need a chance to see my son again. If we forget about everything, I will still have it. I can’t give up on this chance.”

“Good.” She uncorked the vial. “I will do it.”

“Do it?” asked the Dark One in surprise, expecting long persuasive speeches and tears.

“Yes,” the princess nodded. “I love you and hope that we will be together. Someday. Regardless of whether I love someone again or not. Everything will be as it should be. If we are destined to be together, we will find a way back to each other, no matter what happens. And if not - well, then this really shouldn’t have happened.”

“Are you sure you're ready?” He took her by the shoulders. There were tears in his eyes.

“Yes.” she answered with ease and drank the potion in one gulp. The Dark One followed suit.

“You're late for the lesson again, dearie,” the mage grumbled displeased. “I was waiting for you an hour ago!”

“I don't know how that could have happened,” Regina muttered, looking at her watch. “I left the house on time.”

*** 

The vision scattered, and the Queen, returning to reality, grabbed the table.

“Regina?” Gold carefully touched her hand. “Are you here?”

“You knew!” She recoiled from him. “Have you known all this time?”

“No, not all.” the man answered calmly. “The last couple of years. I drank the potion too, you saw it. But I left myself a loophole. A troll stone with memories. To remember you when I would find Bae.”

“And you stayed silent all this time ?!” The Queen exclaimed, jumping up from her chair. “Don't you think that I had the right to know that as well?”

“Regina ...” He reached after her and tried to take her hand.

“No, don’t” she drew her arm back. “Don’t touch me. Why did you not tell me?”

“How could I tell you?” Gold shrugged. “When I remembered everything, it was too late. You always had someone. I had Belle, it… seemed to me that I loved her. And, you know ... Back then I did not know that it would be your father. How could I have told you everything? You killed your father because of me. I wouldn’t dare come close to you. But then, when you and Regina split up, and you came to me, I thought that I had a chance. Although I still did not dare to show you this memory. But this was wrong to begin with. You should have known everything. I don’t know if you can forgive me, but, as you said, everything will be as it should be. And in any case, I'm glad that it turned out to be _your_ memory.”

“As in?” The Queen asked. “Whose could it be?”

“Well, no one could tell for sure when the Evil Queen appeared in Regina Mills’ mind” he explained.

“All this time I could not fall in love with anyone and did not understand why.” she sat down at the table again. “Regina constantly dragged all these men home. She was in love, and they only annoyed me. And she still could not understand what kind of weak voice inside her resisted all her relationships? Why was nothing really working out? This voice was me, who continued to love you, no matter what, not even remembering it. And you were silent. All this time you were silent”, she got up and went to the door.

“You know, I need to take a walk. Alone.”

*** 

“Regina.” Gold went to the Queen, sitting with a light dress on at the seashore, on the sand, at the very end of the water, with a glass of wine. “You'd better go back to your room. After sunset, it gets chilly fast, you will catch a cold. I rented another room, so this one is completely yours. If you allow me, I will accompany you. Don’t assume anything bad, I don’t have ulterior motives. I just want to make sure you spend the night in a warm bed.”

“Wow, how caring you are” the Queen laughed, not looking at him. He sat silently next to her, and for a while both of them, just as silently, watched the sunset. “Do you know what my problem is?” Regina finally looked at him.

“What?” Gold turned to her.

“That I still love you.” She moved towards him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I should leave you this instant, which would be very right. But I can’t do it.” She buried her nose in his neck, hugging him. “All I want is to be with you. And I'm glad that we still found a way back to each other. Despite how difficult this path has been.”

“Forgive me” he hugged her back, kissing her forehead. “My guilt for you, for your father... I’m cannot make amends.”

“You are not to blame.” the Queen objected. “I really always had a choice. It wasn't you who put my hand in my father's chest. I did it myself.” She burst into tears, snuggling up to him.

“No, darling.” He pushed her chin up.

“Don't.” She shook her head, once again buried in his neck. “Don't say anything. At least after a visit to the Underworld, I know that now he is doing well, he is in a better place and he is happy. He forgave me, and maybe I can do it as well.”

“But if I hadn’t forced you to drink the potion, it would have been completely different.” Gold stroked her hair slowly. “You would have hated me very soon.” Regina shook her head. “And yourself too. And inside me, every day, the voice of Regina Mills, who loved Daniel, would have come out more and more. In the end, everything would have ended up much worse.”

“Come on.” he got to his feet and pulled her along. “The sun has set, a cold breeze is bound to start now.

“Come on.” She got up and took his arm. “Turn in that second room. One is enough for us.”

“Now everything will be fine, I promise you,” Gold took her hand and kissed it. “You won’t regret anything.”

“I have no doubt.” the Queen wrapped herself in a light scarf, which previously dangled on her shoulders. “There is a reason we returned to each other again. Everything happened as it should have. And everything will be as such.”

*** 

“I think he's already sleeping.” the Queen glanced over her husband’s shoulder, who was rocking the cradle of his son.

“I think so, too.” he gently stopped moving the cradle and turned to his wife. “Our first night awaits us, Mrs. Gold.”

“Mrs. Gold.” the wife echoed after him, trying on the new name. “It sounds so unusual.” They recently returned to their room, after tying the knot on sunset at one of the colorful beaches of Santorini, let the nanny go and now, having laid Gideon down, they were free to have their own plans.

“Gotta get used to it.” Gold put his arm around her waist and kissed her. “Now you are my wife, and that is forever, dearie. You will not get away from me.”

“I'm not going to.” the Queen smiled. “But we already have had a first night, and it was beautiful.”

“This doesn’t mean we can’t have one more” her husband shrugged slightly. “Now as a husband and wife.” He easily picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

“What is this for?” Regina inquired, hugging his neck.

“Well, I have to carry you over some threshold, since we decided to do everything right this time.” Gold smiled. Laying her on the bed, he sat next to her. “You have become even more beautiful.” he ran a hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “And even more desirable.”

“You also look much better without scales” the Queen smiled, pulling him close to her and kissing him.

“Is that so?” said a fake offended Gold. “Don’t you like me with scales?”

“I like you in every way.” she quickly kissed his nose. “But scales are not something I will miss.”

“Well, then I was much slimmer” he remarked.

“I don’t miss that either.” the Queen hugged his waist, snuggling up to him.

“You know, perhaps this time I will have to be embarrassed” Gold grinned.

“No reason.” She kissed him behind his ear. Having laid him on his back, she started leaving a path of kisses on his neck, chest and stomach, unfastening his clothes at the same time.

“Do you realize none of us will last as long as that time?” her husband clarified, digging his fingers into her hair.

“We'll see about that.” the Queen kissed his bulge over his trousers and immediately darted up, back to his neck. “You gave me the most magical first night. Now it's my turn.”


	3. Chapter 3

In the spacious bedroom of one of the most expensive houses in the prestigious New York area, the Upper East Side, in a wide bed, a woman slept on a man’s shoulder. Nearby stood a cradle. Coals were smoldering in the fireplace, it was snowing outside the window and Manhattan’s business district glowed in the distance. A child started to whimper in the cradle.

“It’s your turn,” the Queen muttered through a dream, gently slipping off Gold’s shoulder and pulling a blanket off him. The man did not react to this at all. “Do not pretend. I know you’re awake.” She nudged him lightly: “Get up”

“Maybe I’m sleeping,” Gold answered, “besides, you hear: everything has already calmed down.”

“That’s it: if you would sleeping, it wouldn’t be so quiet here,” the Queen turned her back to him, buring her nose into the pillow: “Go! You know that he will cry again now. If he woke up, he’s going to stay awake”

“It’s a lie!” her husband was indignant, running his hand under the blanket and pulling his wife towards him. “I do not snore!”

“Yeah, not at all,” she snuggled up against him, exposing her neck for a kiss. “Go to your son, dad.”

“By the way, it’s your son too, and it’s been my turn for the third time in a row. This is unfair”. Nevertheless, Gold got up and put on his bathrobe.

“Until dawn, he is your son.” the Queen yawned. “And you are Dark One, by the way. You don’t need sleep”

“Very funny!” Gold leaned towards her for another kiss. “And that would be true if you agreed to return to my castle. At the Enchanted Forest, we could find a wet nurse.”

“Absolutely not! For some peasant to be feeding my son! And why is it your castle and not mine?” The Queen was indignant. “No, it’s too dreary in the Enchanted Forest. I like New York much more. Although there I would have slept much better, that’s a fact.”

“You’re a bore.” He lightly bit the delicate skin on her neck.

“And you bite.” the Queen covered herself with a blanket over her head.

At that moment, the baby in the cradle started to cry again.

“What did I say? Come on, dad!”

Gold went over to the cradle and took the baby in his arms. “Well, why are we so noisy and not letting our parents sleep?” He asked his son with fake severity. The child smiled and reached for him. “Don’t butter me up.” Gold smiled back and kissed the baby. Transferring the child to one arm, he mixed an infant formula in a bottle.

“Well, look how expertly you can do it.” the Queen looked at him, leaning on her arm. “You could even manage to open a thermos with one hand. It wouldn’t have worked out for me.”

“You kind of wanted to sleep?” He crouched on the edge of the bed.

“I still want to, but I enjoy watching you and the baby too much,” she sat behind him, legs bent under her, and pressed herself against his back, hugging him and resting her head on his shoulder. “You both look so happy when you hold him in your arms.”

“Especially at four in the morning,” Gold rubbed his cheek against her cheek.

“At any time” she snuggled closer to him. “You are just all shining, and the tenderness emanating from you, floods everything around.”

“The things mom says, so she won’t get out of bed that early in the morning, eh?” Gold smiled at his son. 

The milk in the bottle was over. He got up and began rocking the child, quietly humming a lullaby and pacing around the room. Having laid the boy who had fallen asleep back into the cradle, he looked at him for quite some time, and then he himself returned to bed.

As soon as he lay down, the Queen clung to him, dipping her hand under the silk of his pajamas.

“Oh no. No way… I want to sleep.” He turned his back to her, gently removing her hand.

“Is that so?!” The Queen lifted herself up on her elbow. “Are you going to be mean?”

“Yeah” Gold yawned “And also snore.”

“Well, you do understand,” she rubbed her hips on him, “that you won’t last long?”

“We’ll see about that” he answered, hugging a pillow.

“Yes? Well, take a look” she launched two fingers into herself and immediately ran them over his hand, leaving a wet mark.

“That is not fair!” an irritated Gold, turned around on his back.

“What did you expect from the Evil Queen?” She began unfastening the buttons on his pajamas.

“But you will be on top, the Evil Queen.” He pulled her close to him and kissed her.

“We’ll see about that,” the Queen smiled.

She unbuttoned his pajama top completely and travelled with light kisses from his neck to the waist of his trousers.

“Regina,” he pulled her up.

“You just don’t lose hope, right?” the Queen grinned. “Commendable quality!” She sank down again and kissed his cock over his pants.

“Oh” Gold breathed, trying to reach her and hug her.

“You will regret being mischievous” she dodged his hand and slid down his groin, kissing it through the thin silk for an infinitely long time.

“Regina ...” Gold groaned.

“Well, we can start this way.” She pulled off his trousers and saddled on his hips.

“Oh yes!” He pulled her down with force.

“Oh no, not so fast,” she dropped his hands off her hips. “I set the pace here.” So she slowly slid up and down his cock. Agonizingly slow. Going up for a long, long time, squeezing it several times at the very top, and then just as slowly dropping down.

“Oh, Regina.” he tried to grab her hips again, but got rejected once more. “Please, a little faster.”

“No.” the Queen grinned. “If you want faster, you have to take me yourself.”

“So you really do not like to lose, huh?” He grabbed her by the waist and in one motion knocked her on the bed, pressing all the weight onto the mattress. “Be it as you want” he said and then eagerly entered her.

“That’s much better” the Queen wrapped her legs around him, clutching him even harder.

Going inside her over and over, his slid his lips from her shoulders, to the collarbones, to her breasts ...

“No, don’t do that,” she jerked painfully as he sucked her nipple a little.

“As you wish” he returned to her collarbone, continuing riding her hard on the mattress.

“Oh my god, Rumple ...” she bent to meet him, clutching him simultaneously with her legs. “A little more ... more ... more ...” She curled around his cock so much that he could hardly move inside her. And then he joined her, pouring into her, his whole body trembling, their moans mixed with each other’s.

“Regina ...” He buried his nose in the hollow between her shoulder and neck.

For some time there they laid silent, breathing each other.

“This is strange, but ... your smell ... it seems to have changed ...” she ran her nose over his shoulder and buried it briefly in his armpit.

“How so?” Gold leaned on his hand and looked at the Queen with interest.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” She buried her nose in his neck and took a deep breath. “But the smell seems not to be yours.”

“Tell me, darling.” Gold asked slyly, “How long is it since you’ve had your last period?”

“I don’t know” She shrugged. ”I don’t keep track, there’s no point for me to do so. But I guess it hasn't been there for quite a long time ... Wait, what makes you think I’m late?”

“Because this is not my first child,” her husband smiled at her. “For the third week in a row you have been enthusiastically eating all this horrible street fast food in Central Park. I can’t even touch your breasts as I used to, so as not to hurt you. And if now you say my smell has changed, then there is no doubt it’s time for us to visit the gynecologist for an ultrasound.”

“But it’s impossible.” the Queen said bewildered. “I cursed myself when Cora tried to push Nottingham on me so I’d give birth to her grandchild. I drank a very strong potion that made me barren.”

“Well, honey” he pressed his lips lightly on her cheek, “in New York, magic does not work at all as we might expect, or it doesn’t work at all. Give me my phone. Over there, besides you, on the nightstand. I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Stern for today. I don’t know about you, but I’m eager to see our baby girl.”

“Baby girl?” the Queen raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Why not a baby boy?”

“No!” Gold was carefully flipping through the phone book. “Such a beauty like you should not give birth to sons. Only daughters! Yes, and I have a chance to father a girl, finally.”

“And what if it’s not a girl?” She asked seriously.

“I’m joking” he pulled her close to him for a kiss. “Any child of yours will be perfect! Oh, I found it.” He had picked out the number from the records. “Are you ready? “

“Yes.” ,she said as she laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him.


	4. Chapter 4

“Dr. Stern.” Gold held out his hand to greet the head physician of one of Manhattan’s best clinics and gave his most courteous smile. “I’m sorry I woke you tonight.”

“Anything for you, Mr. Gold.” Stern tried to say it as enthusiastically as possible. “Mrs. Gold.” ,he bowed slightly. “Dr. Medisson is waiting for you. She is my best obstetrician and a wonderful ultrasound diagnostician. You will be in good hands. Come on!” He went down the corridor, gesturing for the couple to follow him.

“I’m scared!” The Queen whispered, clutching her husband’s hand. 

“Of what?” said a surprised Gold. 

“What if there is no child?” ,she asked in the same frightened whisper. 

“Well” Gold paused. “We still have a son, and he will be enough.” 

“No, he won’t.” She shook her head.

“No?” Gold looked at her, bewildered. 

“It won’t be enough for me” she looked at the floor. “I love Gideon. He is part of you, and I love him as much as you. It used to be enough for me, since I knew for sure that I could not give birth to a child. But now, when so suddenly there was a glimmer of hope ... I want a child who will be part of me as well, you see? But what if this never happens? If this is simply false hope?” 

“Regina” ,he pressed her close to him, “we will do everything to ensure it isn’t false. Just look at the magic of this world! Here they raise the dead and replace the hearts. If you want a baby, we can do it. Even if there’s nothing now. Everything will be fine, I promise. Everything will be as you want.”

“You can’t promise that.” She hid her face on his chest. “This is not our world and not our magic. We can’t do anything here.”

“Well, we have Dr. Stern and his clinic.” He raised her face up by the chin and kissed her.

“Yes, just like I had Dr. Frankenstein, who came only to steal one of my hearts! ” Regina burst out. 

“This will not happen here.” Gold kissed her again. “Come on! Nothing has happened yet. You will see your child now. I’m sure of it.”

“Mr. Gold, Mrs. Gold?” Dr. Stern stopped at the end of the corridor, looking inquiringly at the couple.

“Just a minute!” Gold took the Queen by the hand and whispered to her: “Let’s go.” 

“I’m scared.” The Queen stood still, pulling her palm away from his. 

“And I’m scared too” ,he lifted her up in his arms with ease and carried her down the corridor, “but there’s no way back. We have to find out.” 

“Let me go!” She tried to jump back down to the floor. 

“Never!” Gold held her even closer. “Dr. Stern, we’re on our way!” 

The doctor broke into a smile while looking at them. “Please…” he opened and held the next door and they ended up in an ultrasound room. “Dr. Medisson, this is Mr. and Mrs. Gold.” he said to the blonde woman sitting at the desk in the office. 

“Good morning!” She rose to meet them and smiled as she looked at them. “You can put your wife down here.”

“See? There’s no way back.” Gold whispered to the Queen, lowering her to the couch. 

“Well, let’s take a look.” The doctor moved the chair to the couch and smeared the sensor with gel. “I need you to lower your pants a little.” She said to the Queen. “Yes, that’s enough, thank you.” 

For a while she looked at the monitor in silence, smoothly moving the sensor. Regina nails pierced into Gold’s hand, leaving red marks. 

“When was the last time you had your period?” the doctor finally asked the Queen. 

“I have no idea.” Regina answered nervously. “I don’t keep track.” 

“Apparently quite a long time ago.” Dr. Medisson said thoughtfully. 

“Maybe so. Say it already! What's in there?” She spat out these words. 

“Oh, everything is fine, Mrs. Gold.” ,the doctor smiled at her. “You have a wonderful healthy pregnancy of about 6-8 weeks. I could say more precisely if you remembered the date of your last menstruation.”

“Pregnancy?” Regina whispered. “Is it really there?” She looked at her husband. 

“Well, of course it’s there.” The doctor turned the monitor towards her: “Look, this is your child. See this pulsating dot? This is its heart. It beats beautifully. Nice healthy rhythm.”

“I don’t believe it!” Regina squeezed Gold’s hand even more. 

“But here it is.” Medisson pointed a finger at the monitor. “The embryo, the amniotic sac and a marvelous heartbeat. You see, there are almost no white blotches in the sonogram. This means that your uterus is relaxed and there is no threat of an interrupted pregnancy. You have a wonderful healthy baby, Mrs. Gold.”

“I ...” The Queen stopped short. 

“Hey!” Gold leaned towards her. “What’s matter, baby? He carefully wiped her tears. 

“We lost so much time…” She put her arms around his neck. “So much time!”

“It’s okay” he gently kissed her eyelids. “We still have a lot of time ahead” he said as he wiped his own tears covertly. “Now everything will be fine. Here it is, our happy ending.”

“No”, the Queen smiled. “This is not a happy ending. It is a happy beginning.” 

“I can’t disagree.” He kissed her once more. 


	5. Chapter 5

The dining room, decorated in soft cream colors, was dimly lit by several wall lights. The Queen sat on a chair cross-legged and leaned on the table, phlegmatically crushing a slice of lemon in a glass with mineral water with a spoon.

Gold came out of the kitchen with a tray in his hands. “Bon appetit, madame!” He kissed his wife on the cheek, putting in front of her a plate with steak and vegetables.

“I don’t want it.” The Queen caught the lemon slice from the glass, nibbled it and immediately washed down with water. “Can’t I just sit with you?”

“But you really have to eat something.” He sat across from her with the same plate in front of him.

“I don't know ...”,she nibbled on the lemon again. “I think the lemon is enough.”

“Well, darling” ,he cut off a piece of meat “you refused breakfast, did not eat lunch, and now you refuse dinner as well. I think that by now you’re more likely going to feel sick from hunger, than from any other reason.”

“It smells weird.” The Queen leaned over the plate, sniffing the steak.

“Well, everything smells strange to you now.” Gold grinned. “It’s a great piece of meat, believe me.” He cut himself another piece of steak.

“Well, yes ...” the Queen agreed. “But still I don't want to eat. I will just sit with you.”

“Listen, I can’t eat when you are sitting nearby just chewing this lemon.” He poured himself some wine and catching the envious look the Queen had on her face, he offered her his glass: “Do you want a sip?”

“Nope.” She shook her head.

“Why not?” He drank from the glass himself. “Dr. Medisson says you can drink half a glass of dry red wine a day. Useful for the blood vessels. And maybe after that you could still eat something.”

“I would if I wanted dry wine” the Queen said as she took a sip from his glass, grimaced and returned the glass to its place, “but I do not like dry wine. I want a martini.”

“They didn’t say anything about martinis.” Gold moved closer to her. “Please at least eat a piece of meat! Let me even cut it for you.” He began cutting the stake in her plate into small pieces, pricked one on a fork and brought it close to the Queen’s mouth. “One piece!”

“I really don't want to!” She waved her hand in a clumsy manner so the plate smashed on the floor and shattered into small fragments. “I’m sorry...” the Queen said embarrassed, blushing a little. “It was an accident; I’ll pick it up now.” She wanted to get up, but Gold stopped her.

“Don't bend over.” He held her by the ankle. “There’s no use for you to cut yourself. I'll do everything.” He picked her up and carried her onto the sofa.

“I feel like an idiot.” she blushed even more.”And I look about the same.”

“You look beautiful,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “And I don't understand why you are so agitated. This was just a plate.”

“The plate has nothing to do with it.”, she cringed. “I behave like a capricious child and I cannot control it. And you are babysitting me alongside Gideon. I don’t understand how you tolerate it.”

“Because you are my favorite whimsical child in the world.” He ran a hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “And you can smash all the dishes in this house. And in several neighboring ones, if you want.”

“Come here.” She pulled him close from his shoulders and kissed him long and tenderly.

“Mmm, that wasn't bad.”, he looked mischievously at her. “Would you like to break something else? There is a whole service in the cabinet.”

“Perhaps there has been enough destruction for today.” the Queen smiled. “You know, I think I want ice cream.”

“Well, this is great news.”Gold smiled. “Lie down, I’ll bring it right away.”


	6. Chapter 6

The Queen woke up and while reaching out in order to hug her husband, she discovered that she was in bed alone. “Rumple?” She raised herself on her elbows, looking around the bedroom.

“Just a minute” she heard his voice from the baby monitor left between their bed and the cradle.

“Really?” She smiled back on the pillow. “You took the baby monitor with you? I'm right here.”

“It's not because of Gideon.” her husband said. “I need to make sure you don't get out of bed before breakfast. You didn’t get up, did you?” He asked worrisome.

“No.” the Queen laughed, “I’m still lying down. You know, you don’t have to do this at all.”, she continued. “You're already taking care of a fussy Gideon at the middle of every night. Don’t jump up at the crack of dawn to make me breakfast as well. Plus, personally, I would like to wake up next to my husband and not with the baby monitor.”

“Dr. Medisson clearly explained that you should have breakfast as soon as you wake up, without getting out of bed, it would help ease up the symptoms of your morning sickness. That’s it, I’m already finished.” He turned the monitor off. Less than a minute later, Gold entered the bedroom with a tray.

“Good morning, your Majesty!” He smiled at the Queen. “I hope it didn’t take too long…” He frowned slightly as he bend over to put the tray on the nightstand.

“Your back hurts.” The Queen stated.

“Nothing hurts! What are you making up?” Gold feigned surprise, pouring tea into her cup.

“Well, I have eyes. You carry us both in your arms nonstop.” She moved to the center of the bed, threw back the blanket and patted the sheet:“ Lie down! I'll massage you a little.”

“Let's start with what you having a bit of breakfast.” he sat on the edge of the bed and handed her a plate of pancakes. “Come on.”

She took a couple of bites. “There it is, see, I ate before getting up. By the way, it’s very tasty, thank you.” She reached out and kissed him. “Now lie down!

“You just will not leave it alone until I do, will you?” Gold returned the plate to the nightstand and lay down next to it.

“That's better,” she sat down on his hips, raised his t-shirt and ran her hands over his back. “Well, look at that, all the knots,” she forcefully pressed a finger somewhere in the lumbar region.

“Oooh” Gold breathed.

“Painful?” the Queen asked, kneading the same place.

“It didn't hurt until you poked it” he grumbled.

“Be patient.” Regina gently stroked his back again with wide movements. “If I don’t make all the knots go away, then nothing will work. It will simply keep on hurting.”

“How do you know all this?” The husband relaxed a little under her hands.

“Sidney taught me some time ago, my genie from Agrabah.” She thrust a finger deep into his lower back. “He was obsessed with yoga, acupuncture, Ayurveda and other similar things. And, you know, some of this really works. So, Sidney ...”

“It seems to me this is the part of the story that I don’t want to know.” Gold interrupted.

“Probably, yes.” She kissed him between the shoulder blades, pressed the clamped up muscle again with force, and immediately began to rub it with her knuckles, pressing them deeply on the body.

“God” he groaned. “You know, my back didn't hurt as much. Maybe that’s enough?”

“Put up with with it a little longer, it will feel great soon.” She continued stretching his back, concentrating on the individual muscles and afterwards she stroked everything fast several times, from the lower back to the neck. At the very end, she laid down on him with her whole body, swaying slightly from side to side. Gradually, she managed to relax him completely. The process itself relaxed her as well: rhythmic movements, warm smooth skin under her... She stood up and massaged him for a while, falling into some sort of meditation, from which her husband's snoring pulled her out.

“That's nice.”, the Queen smiled. She carefully slipped away from him, so as not to wake him up and she carefully covered him with a blanket. She lay next to Gold for quite some time, when the baby started fussing in the cradle. The Queen was near him in one jump.

“Hush, hush, dad is sleeping.” ,she whispered to the baby, picking him up in her arms. “Come on.” she quietly left the bedroom. “You and I will change clothes, eat and take a little walk, until dad rests for a while away from us, okay? How do you like this plan?” The Queen kissed Gideon and went straight to the nursery.


	7. Chapter 7

“These are all good for nothing!” the Queen irritated pulled off a dark blue dress embroidered with gold and threw it to the corner, where there was already a heap of multi-colored rags. She walked through the dressing room, along the rows of dresses, pulling out one, then the other, looking around and returning them to their place. “This isn’t it!” In only her underwear, she went to the mirror, meticulously examining her figure: a barely noticeable belly and slightly enlarged breasts. “What can I even find here anymore?” She pulled her stomach in, turned enface, then in profile, with her back turned, then from the side. Wincing, she stepped away from the mirror and sat on the ottoman.

“Are you ready?” Gold sneaked a look into the room.

“No.” the Queen replied grimly. “And I'm not going anywhere!”

“What do you mean you’re not going?” He asked, puzzled.

“I’m not going and that’s that!” The Queen said petulantly.

“Honey, what happened?” He went to her, squatted next to the ottoman, and looked at her from the bottom up.

“What happened is that I look terrible, and I have nothing to wear, and I will not go anywhere.” the Queen sighed.

“You look beautiful.” Gold took her hand. “Regina, what's going on?”

“I'll show you!” She got up, went to the heap of dresses in the corner, pulled out the recently thrown blue and put it on again. “See?” She turned around in front of him, showing herself from different angles. The dress fitted her figure.

“Well, yes.” Gold agreed. “The neckline could have been less plunging. Trenton, of course, will be happy with that, but his wife is unlikely to.”

“You're kidding right?” the Queen snapped. “What does the neckline have to do with anything? Look at my belly!”

“Well dear, you're pregnant.” Gold smiled. “Agree, it’s normal that at four months you have a small tummy. Probably, you should start updating your wardrobe. Although your old dresses still look amazing on you. You look amazing.” He hugged her from behind, looking at her in the mirror.

“With a stomach that sticks out and breasts that barely fit in the neckline.” the Queen grimaced.

“Yeah, with breasts that barely fit in the neckline…” ,he licked his lips. “And with this lovely tummy.” he pressed his hips to her, kissing her neck.

“I can’t look at it.” the Queen freed herself from his embrace, stepped away from the mirror, threw off her dress again and sat down on the ottoman.

“During the next six months, we can’t get away from this.” Gold sat down next to her again. “And, frankly, I see only one problem here.” he glanced around. “I can’t figure out how to expand this closet for the new dresses.”

“What if it’s not only for the next six months?” Regina looked at him saddened. “This is all so unexpected, and unusual, and frightening. I look at myself, and I do not know what to expect next. What if I become like so many others? Look at Snow, what happened to her body after childbirth! Or to Trenton’s wife. What if I become like that too or far worse? What if I weigh a ton?”

“You will still be the most beautiful woman in New York and beyond.” her husband assured her.

“Just don't.” the Queen frowned. “Tell me again how you will be able to sleep with me with the same pleasure, with this belly and everything else.” she gestured while imitating the figure of a pregnant Snow White.

“Well, you are sleeping with me.” Gold grinned. “With my belly and all that.”

“Well, this is a completely different matter.” Regina waved him off.

“Different?” He looked probingly at his wife. “Regina, be honest why did you marry me? I’m not at all what I was when we met, in the Enchanted Forest. I have a fuller stomach, sides and cheeks, wrinkles around my eyes, a second chin. Are you with me for the money?” He asked earnestly.

“Are you insane?” ,the Queen looked at him in shock. “I'm the Queen! Why the hell would I want your money?! I am with you because I love you. I wanna be with you. I want you. I love your stomach, and your sides, and ... wait ... you tricked me!”

“Off course.” Gold laughed. “But what did you expect from the Dark One, darling?”

“But you understand what I'm talking about.” she sighed. “You are a man, I am a woman, everything is different with us in general.”

“But I will still love you” he pulled her to him and kissed her “even if you weigh a ton, yes. I love YOU, Regina. Not your perfect legs and flat stomach. Though, your legs are, of course, very nice. Like all of you. But I will love you no matter how you look and how much you weigh. You and our daughter.”

“You know, I think we still won’t go to the Trentons for dinner.” Regina smiled, unfastening his vest.

“Oh, that won't be very polite.” Gold kissed her again.

“But we can suddenly get sick, for example.” She ran her hands under his shirt.

“We can be a little late.” He unzipped her bra.

“Only a little?”,the Queen said as capriciously as possible.

“But we will come back to this conversation after dinner.” Gold kissed her again.


	8. Chapter 8

“What are you doing?” Gold entered the kitchen, dressed in a gray homewear suit.

“Hmm, I don’t know.” the Queen, standing over the sink, turned around the soaped plate in her hands, looking at it from different sides. “I think I'm washing the dishes.” she finally concluded.

“But why are you doing this?” He went to her, looking at a stack of dishes near the sink.

“I like eating from clean plates.” the Queen shrugged.

“If you’d tell me, I would have washed them.” He hugged her from behind, burrowing his nose into her hair.

“You would have washed them badly.” She removed one of the pans from the pile. “Do you hear that?” She ran a finger over it. “It doesn't creak. And it was stacked away in the cabinet as clean, which means it was you who washed it.”

“So what?” Gold shrugged. “A little oil should remain in the pan, so it is better preserved.”

“Unlike us,” the Queen nodded, “who are forced to eat fried butter for the eighth time. And you didn’t soak this one yesterday.” She showed him the second one. “I don’t know what got burned here, but now it will be really difficult to wash since it has dried up.”

“Nothing burned here.” Gold looked closely. “These are caramelized onions’ leftovers for yesterday's onion soup.”

“Seriously?” the Queen glanced at him, raising her eyebrow a little. “You caramelized the onions in the pan?”

“Oh, well, tell me how wrong it is!” laughed Gold. “And how you instantly felt that something was wrong all your way up to the third plate.”

“Well, yes, never mind.” ,she started wiping the pan, “The soup was really delicious.”

“So do not be mean! I first made this soup when you hadn’t even been born yet.” he gently bit her shoulder. “Leave all of it. I'm home.”

“Why are you bothering me?” the Queen said in indignation. “I, what? I can’t wash the dishes already in my own house? You don’t allow me to do anything at all. If possible, you would have wrapped me in cotton wool and packed in a box.” She finished with the frying pan and set to work on a glass salad bowl.

“That's a good idea, by the way,” Gold said. “I like it. You need to relax, walk, eat vitamins. No need to do anything around the house, I’ll do it all.”

“Here, do this for now.” ,she handed him the washed salad bowl. “Wipe it and put it in the cabinet. Just wipe it off normally, so that it doesn’t have any stains.”

“God forbid.” Gold sighed, polishing the glass with a towel. “Is that okay?” he said as he showed it to the Queen after a while.

“Perfect.” she smiled. The dishes had already ended by then. The Queen turned to her husband and kissed him.

“At least something was successful.” Gold sighed in relief, hugging her. He ran his fingertips along her back, from top to bottom, lingering a little in the waist area and then he pulled her towards him and kissed her as well. “Have you satisfied your passion for house chores?” he asked. “Can we go back already to the walks and the vitamins?

“Well, I don’t know.” the Queen stretched, putting her hands on his shoulders. “It’s cold outside ...” she rubbed her nose with his and kissed him on the corner of his lips. “And the snow is falling ...”

“Quite a bit.” Gold looked out the window. “Look, how beautiful!”

“I suggest postponing walks until spring.” she squeezed his shoulders a little.

“And there is no way for me to convince you?” He reached for her and slipped his lips through her hair.

“Maybe there is.” she put her arms around his neck, snuggling closer to him. “Maybe if it gets too hot at home, I will agree to take a little walk in the snow.”

“Well, we can try this method.” He grabbed her by the hips and sat her on the countertop, ran his nose on her shoulder, up her neck, inhaling her smell, and at the end kissed her behind the ear. The Queen wrapped her legs around him, pulling him to her, also kissing his neck, sometimes tracing the tip of her tongue over the ear. Gold pulled off her T-shirt. “I think it's getting warmer.” he kissed Regina on the lips, sliding his hands over her back.

“Definitely.” she arched her back towards him, exposing her breasts for kisses. The very next moment there was a deafening clang of metal on the tiles. Both winced, turning around to the sound. Not far from them, near one of the lockers, Gideon sat, watching with delight as several pots rolled in different directions from him. “Oh my god.” the Queen jerked toward him, but Gold stopped her.

“Sit!” he kept her in place. “He doesn’t cry, so our involvement isn’t required. I want to see what he will do next.”

“How did he reach the shelf with the pots?” The Queen asked, looking at the child.

“This is fascinating to me.” Gold answered, also watching his son.

“And how did he end up here? Where did you leave him?” She turned to her husband.

“In the playpen.” he answered. “Oh look!” Holding on to the cabinet’s door, the boy stood on his feet.

“He learned how to stand!” the Queen exhaled with delight.

“And also how to open the latch in the playpen.” Gold nodded. The child reached again for the shelf with the dishes.

“Gideon, no!” The Queen waved her hand sharply.

“Did you just try to freeze him?” Gold asked with a grin, looking at his wife.

“Yes. And it’s a pity that it doesn’t work.”the Queen replied quickly. “Catch him!” She cried, pointing to her son. In one motion, Gold found himself near Gideon and grabbed him from under another batch of dishes falling to the floor.

“Don’t worry your mother.” he said to the boy with a smile, picking him up in his arms. “Well, mother” he returned to the Queen and patted her thigh “a walk is inevitable if you do not want this young man to smash the whole house.”

“Perhaps.” ,she slid to the floor. “Let’s dressed, I'll be ready in ten minutes.”

***

They slowly reached Central Park, walking down the alley, amongst the snowy trees. “You were right.” said the Queen while holding her husband's arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “It really is beautiful, like we’re on a Christmas ball.”

“It's nice that at least sometimes I am right.” Gold smiled, kissing her temple.

“Quite often.” Raising her head, she kissed his cheek. After a little more walking, they reached the playground.

“Come on.” Gold took his son out of the stroller and put him on his feet. “Since you can stand now, it is time for us to start learning to walk.” Holding the baby by both hands, he led him to the slide. It turned out, however, it didn’t go that well. “Hey, one step at a time” he raised his son in his arms.

The Queen, crouching on a bench, looked captivated at them. “Have I already said how much I like looking at you with the baby?” she asked her husband.

“Oh, many times,” Gold said, guiding his son down the slide “But I can listen to more of them.”

“Oh I will say it again.” the Queen smiled.

“Will you go to the carousel?” Gold took Gideon in his arms. “Mom, you should come ride with us too.”

“No, do the carousel without me.” Regina waved off. “It makes me nauseous.”

“Well, will you perhaps sway with us on the swings at least?” Gold asked after a while, when Gideon got bored with the carousel.

“Do you think it can hold me?” the Queen asked doubtfully, getting up from the bench and approaching her husband.

“It should.” Gold shrugged.

“You know, I haven’t swung on a swing since childhood.” the Queen cautiously sat down on the seat.

“One more reason to do this.” He put his son on a nearby swing with a child seat, rocked him for a while and then returned to his wife. “Allow me, your Majesty.” He began slowly swaying her.

“I hope it doesn't break off.” the Queen looked up at the chain.

“I'll catch you.” Gold assured her, swinging a little harder.

“A magical sensation” the Queen looked at the large flakes of snow slowly falling in the light of the lantern.

“And you see, you didn’t want to go.” Gold smiled.

“Yes, but now you will definitely have to warm me up at home.” the Queen smiled back “because I'm already starting to freeze.”

“With pleasure, my Queen,” he looked fondly at his wife.

***

While the Queen unlocked the door of their house, Gold shook off the snow from her fur coat. When they entered the hallway, he helped his wife undress. “You’re really frozen.” ,he touched her nose.

“A little.” She reached for the zipper on her boot.

“Wait, sit down.” He sat her on the banquet and began to unfasten her boots.

“Rumple, I'm pregnant, not sick.” the Queen smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“So what? I can’t take off your boots?” countered Gold.

“You can.” Regina surrendered. Leaning slightly, she kissed him.

“And your lips are cold.” Gold said.

“I am such an icy woman.”,she laughed.

“I think you should lay in a warm bath, icy woman, while I myself lie Gideon down.” He got up, took off his coat and began undressing his son.

“Do you think it will warm me up?” the Queen asked raising one eyebrow.

“From the cold anyway”, he said in a cheeky tone as he took his son in his arms. “We are going to lie down, and you go get warmed up.”

“We agreed that you would warm me up.” Regina said slyly. “And the Dark One does not break his deals.”

“That’s going to happen as well.” Gold nodded. “I will come back soon!” he said as he was walking to the nursery. 

***

The Queen was laying in the bath with her eyes closed.

“Are you sleeping?” Gold asked barely audibly, leaning towards her.

“Not possible.” ,she looked at her husband with a smile. “Come here.” She reached out and hugged his neck. He kissed her on the lips, traced kisses on her neck, shoulder, arm and got his nose buried in the hollow at the bend of her elbow, eagerly sucking in her smell.

“Why don’t we go to bed, hm?” he asked.

“Give me the oil.” She nodded at the cabinet by the bathtub. “The skin dries up when it’s very cold.” Gold got up, rummaging in the locker, took out a bottle of moisturizing oil and sat down next to his wife again. Pouring a little into the palm of his hand, he trailed over her collarbones and shoulders sticking out of the water, massaging them gently. Then he went over to her arms, stroking them down from her shoulders to her hands, massaging them a bit, enjoying every movement. Moving to the other side of the bath, he held her feet by the ankles, slipping his fingers from toes to thighs, as far as possible up until the line of the water, massaging first the feet and then the calves, rubbing the oil into moist glossy skin. Pulling the cork from the bathtub, he continued to cover the Queen with oil as the water receded.

“Come on.” he held out his hand to his crumpled wife when the water completely drained.

“It’s slippery.” she put her foot on the bottom of the bath.

“I’ll hold you.” Pulling the Queen out of the bath, he wrapped her in a large fluffy towel, rubbing off water and excess oil.

“It was amazing.” She closed her eyes, clinging to him.

“It will get even better.” He took her in his arms and carried her to bed. Lowering his wife to the sheets, he undressed himself and lay down next to her.

“Come here.” Regina put her arms around his neck, kissing him so passionately, his head was spinning. Excited by the impromptu massage in the bathroom, Gold slipped his fingers inside her, relieved to realize that she shared his desire. He hung over her, with light movements of his hips spreading her legs apart.

“Rumple” she whispered, leaning towards him. At first he entered her very carefully, as if he was afraid not to hurt her, but he quickly increased his pace when she wrapped her legs around him, clutching him close to her. Pretty soon they coordinated perfectly, moving harmoniously, without a single mistake. Feeling each other. She kissed him without stopping, wherever she could reach; she sucked his nipples so hard it almost hurt. Gold was already losing touch with reality, hearing her moans, feeling her lips on his body. Suddenly, a wave of orgasm swept upward over their bodies, and he fell next to Regina, holding her hips, still remaining inside her.

“Oh my god.” ,she whispered, snuggling up to his chest, eagerly breathing in his hot smell. “No, stay.” She held his hips as he was about to pull out from her.

“I'm afraid it's pointless.” Gold muttered sleepily. “All I can do now is lie down and fall asleep.”

“Fine.” ,she squeezed him inside her. “But that doesn't stop you from staying in me for a while.” Gold mumbled something faintly as he was clutching her. The Queen hugged him tighter, nuzzling at his shoulder. “Good night,” she whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

It was about six in the morning when a long persistent knock on the door began, rather quickly accompanied by the ring bell.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Gold asked with closed eyes.

“No, of course not.” the Queen answered half asleep, laying comfortably on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. The knock continued.

“We have someone really persistent here.” Gold finally opened his eyes. “I’ll go and see who it is.”

“Forget about it.”, she threw her leg over him. “Whoever it is, they will be bored of knocking at some point, and they will leave.”

“Yes, unless Gideon wakes up before that.” He squinted at the cradle. “I’ll be quick.” He gently freed himself from his wife’s embrace, put on his robe and went downstairs. Opening the door, Gold froze in amazement. Belle stood in the doorway, in person.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with surprise and dislike in his voice. “And how did you end up here?”

“I came for my son!” Belle blurted out, her eyes sparkling. “You stole him!”

“I DID?” said an even more surprised Gold. “Are you confusing things perhaps? As far as I can recall, you gave him to the fairies, without even telling me his name, without letting me see him. And now you come here and say that I stole your child? Are you out of your mind?”

“I think you know very well that it wasn't the Blue Fairy who took him!” Belle continued. “I should have realized everything the moment you disappeared from the city, immediately after everything that happened! I should have guessed that you were up to something! But I was too depressed. Everything got out to the light when the Blue Fairy returned to Storybrooke. Someone kicked her out of the city that evening, when Gideon was born. What a surprise, right?”

“Well, apparently, that means that someone else took the child.” Gold shrugged. “Congratulations dearie. Your plan was perfect. Now he is where I will never find him. As you wanted.”

“And who could it be?” Belle exclaimed. “You didn’t just simply leave. You took him! You took my son! And now that Emma and I have managed to track you down, you will return him to me! Here…” She put a pack of photographs in his hand. “Emma saw you yesterday at the park, with a child.”

“But this is my child, dearie.” Gold shrugged calmly. “You gave up your own to an unknown someone; I think it’s best you forget about him.”

“That won't happen.” Belle hissed. “I will not leave from here without my son!”

“Oh you will leave for sure.” Gold laughed. “And if you don’t leave on your own, I will call the police. How dare you come to me after all you’ve done? How dare you look me in the eyes? How dare you interrogate me and accuse me?”

“After everything I did?” Belle asked shrilly. “After everything you did! After all that you have done with me, with us, with our son! I wanted to protect him from you! I wanted to give him a chance for a better life!”

“You know, I'm tired of listening to this.” He took his phone from his pocket and dialed the number of the nearest station. “The police will be here in five minutes.” he told Belle, ending the conversation.

“Rumple, who is it?” Regina's voice came from upstairs, and after a second she appeared at the head of the stairway in a long silk robe. Belle stared in amazement at the Queen's noticeably pregnant figure.

“She is here.” Belle breathed. “I should have guessed it!” She rushed to get inside but Gold grabbed her by the scruff like a kitten and sharply pushed her beyond the threshold.

“I don't remember inviting you to come in.” ,he said irritably.

“What is she doing here?” The Queen snapped, going down a few steps. Her eyes flashed with the same fire they used to have back in the Enchanted Forest.

“Honey, get back to bed.” Gold said softly, turning to her. “You shouldn’t get upset.”

“How dare you come here?” The Queen hissed, flaring up more and more.

“Regina, I’m begging you, go back to our bedroom and lie down. I will come up in five minutes. As soon as the officers arrive and take away Miss French. Please.”

The Queen reluctantly went upstairs and after standing for a couple of seconds at the head of the stairs, burned through Belle's gaze and disappeared behind the door.

“You will give me my son back!” Belle spoke while gesturing lively. “I will not leave you alone! Never!”

“Oh but you will, for certain!” Gold grabbed her by the shoulders, dragged her into the hallway and sharply pressed her to the wall. “In this world, everything is solved very simply. Now you are going to the station, and tomorrow I will receive a restraining order that will not let you come close to either my children, or my wife, or me. And pray to God that your today's performance doesn’t affect the health of my wife and daughter! In this case, a restraining order simply will not be enough. I have enough connections in this city: in the police and in court. You will regret you were born!”, he hissed evilly.

“Wife?” Belle asked suddenly, bewildered. “But I am your wife. Rumple, what's happening to you?” She looked imploringly at him. “What have we done to each other?” With our marriage? With our son?

“You know,” Gold let her go, “it turns out that a marriage certificate signed by a cricket in a nonexistent city, has no power here. This marriage here is utter fiction. Unlike my marriage to Regina.” The sounds of police sirens were heard from the street. “Oh, they’re here for you.” He brought her to the threshold clutching under her elbow. After a few seconds, a police car stopped at the house, two officers got out and went to Belle and Gold. When the handcuffs clicked on Belle’s hands, Gold pointed to one of the officers at the yellow Volkswagen, which had been parked at the opposite curb.

“And that is Miss Swan, who is engaged in illegal surveillance.” he handed him a pack of photographs. “I think you should stop her, officer.”

“Of course, Mr. Gold,” the policeman smiled. “Have a nice day!”

Gold returned to the bedroom. “Hey how are you?” He leaned towards Regina, who was lying with her face hidden in the pillows. The Queen did not answer. “Regina?” He lay down next to her, clutching her on him. “Baby?”

“I don’t want them to reappear in our lives.” She turned to him, hugged him and snuggled up to him.

“Them?” Gold spelled out.

“All these people from our past, from Storybrooke.” She settled on his shoulder again. “Because our little Belle is clearly not alone here. And I don’t want to see either her or anyone else. Everything was so good, we started from scratch, I am here with you. I don’t want to lose this.”

“Honey, we won’t lose anything.” he gently kissed her forehead. “This is not Storybrooke. Here, none of them will even come close to you, I promise.”

“You promise?” She kissed him on the shoulder.

“Tomorrow we play poker with Dr. Stern and Judge Trenton. We will discuss with him how it’s best to go about this. But no one, I promise you, will ever bother you again. Listen, it’s half past six in the morning, we can sleep for another half hour before Gideon wakes up.”

“It’s unlikely getting any sleep now.” ,the Queen sighed.

“Come here.” Gold smiled, placing his wife’s head on his shoulder. “Close your eyes and don’t worry about anything. I'll take care of everything.”


	10. Chapter 10

“No, this is a mistake!” Belle clung to the net separating her from the officers in the car. “Please, you must help me! This is my child! Gold stole it from me! You should have arrested him!”

“You will be able to report this at the precinct.”, one of the policemen replied indifferently. “The detective will be happy to hear your story.”

“It's true!” Belle did not let up. “I know that my husband knows how to gain power in all worlds, but you should not be afraid of him! You must be on the side of the truth! You have to take my child away from him!”

“Your husband?”, asked the police officer.

“Mr. Gold.” Belle said. “Well, now it turns out ex-husband ... Sort of ... Probably ...”

“As far as I know, you don't really look like Mrs. Gold.” the guy grinned.

“But I was her and I gave birth to a child whom he and Regina took!” Belle exclaimed.

“You can tell all this to the detective at the station.” the officer repeated.

“Well, I hope he helps me!” Belle said in indignation. The rest of the way, they rode in silence.

“Who’s on this case?” the police officer asked the attendant upon entering the precinct along with Belle. “The girl from Mr. Gold’s house.”, he clarified.

“Rotenberg.” the attendant replied without looking, continuing to scribble something on the computer.

“There it is, now you will tell Detective Rotenberg everything.”, the policeman encouraged her on her way to the appropriate office. “He will listen to you.”

“Thank God.” Belle muttered displeasedly, throwing a reproachful glance at him.

“Have a seat.” He led her to the detective’s desk.

“Who is this?” The man behind the desk looked up from the papers.

“This is the woman who broke into the Golds.”, the officer commented.

“That's interesting.” he looked over Belle. “Thanks, James.” He nodded to the policeman and he left. “So, miss ... what's your name?”

“Belle.” she answered.

“Just Belle?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Belle Gold.” She thought for a second and added: “That is, French. Belle French.”

“Hmm, that's even more interesting.” the detective smiled. “Tell me, Miss Gold, that is, French, why did you break into someone else's house?”

“You see,” Belle began quickly, “they have my child! Mr. Gold used to be my husband, and he took it from me! He and Regina together! They stole my son and left! I tried for a long time to find them, and now, when I found them, they, of course, do not give me my son back. You must help me! You must give me my baby back!”

“You claim that Gold's son is really yours?” said the detective.

“Exactly!” Belle nodded. “And I want to report a parental kidnapping!”

“Contact the child protective service.”, he nodded to his partner. “Let them check the Golds.”

“Really?”, he grinned. “They’ll actually check Gold?”

“What can we do, we must process all citizens' reports” Rottenberg shrugged. “Here.” He handed Belle a sheet of paper and a pen. “I must ask you to put everything in writing.”

“And you will return my child to me?” Belle asked hopefully, after handing back the written sheet to the detective.

“Your child? For sure!” He assured her.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Belle was optimistic. “So can I go?”

“I'm afraid not.” The detective shook his head. “You are to be detained for 72 hours until the circumstances of the case are clarified. In addition, you are still expecting a meeting with an inspector from the child protective service. We already called her, she will arrive here soon. In the meantime, officer will guide you to your cell.”

“Put to jail?!” Belle stumbled back from the table. “But I did nothing wrong! I just need my baby!”

“I'm afraid this is the law, Miss French.” The detective called the officer with a gesture. “Have you had been read your rights? Do you want to call your lawyer now?”

“I have no one to call.” Belle answered quietly.

“Well then, please follow this officer.” He pointed to the policeman who had just arrived. “You will be called when the child protective service inspector arrives.”

*** 

“Good afternoon, Miss French! My name is Rachel Burke. I am a child protective service inspector. Are you ready to talk to me?” a slender middle-aged woman in a strict suit entered the interrogation room where Belle was brought into.

“Yes! Of course yes!” Belle jumped up to greet her, but the guard put her back in her place.

“You need not to make sudden movements.”, the woman said calmly, sitting down at the table opposite Belle. “We are at a police station, and you are detained. Don’t forget this.” She removed a folder with papers from her briefcase and put on her glasses. “Let's get down to it, Miss French. So, you say, Miss French, that a year ago, while living in Storybrooke, Maine, you gave birth to a child from Mr. Gold, whom Mr. Gold has stolen from you? And Mrs. Gold was an accomplice to the abduction?”, she said.

“Exactly!” Belle answered fervently. “This is my son! He took it from me! They are together in this, both of them!”

The inspector turned over several pages in the folder and ran a finger over a document. “The birth certificate says something else. The mother of the child is Regina Gold.”

“It's a lie! Belle blurted out. “They faked it!”

“Yes.” The woman went back into the document folder again. “Tell me, Miss French, were you seen somewhere during your pregnancy?”

“No.” Belle shook her head.

“Why?” the woman looked up at her. “Do you not have insurance?”

“It's hard to explain.” Belle hesitated. “It’s just that my pregnancy was quite unusual.”

“I see.” ,the inspector nodded. “Do you have a medical birth certificate?”

“A what?” Belle didn't understand.

“A certificate of the birth of a child from the hospital in which you gave birth” the woman said. “Did you give birth in a hospital?”

“No.” Belle swallowed nervously. “Not really ... I gave birth in a monastery.”

“How so?” The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Why?”

“It happened.” Belle hesitated again. “I couldn’t go to the hospital, my husband would have found me there ... Mr. Gold.”

“Yes.” The woman looked at her with interest. “Your husband?”

“Well ... yes ... before all this happened, Gold used to be my husband.” Belle felt uncomfortable under the inspector's gaze.

“So, did I understand you correctly, Miss French?” The woman specified: “A year ago, you gave birth to a child from Mr. Gold, who was your husband at the time, but you gave birth to a child in a monastery where Mr. Gold couldn’t find you?”

“We have a slightly complicated relationship.” Belle smiled dryly.

“To put it mildly.” the woman nodded. “Who helped you with your birth, Miss French?”

“Emma.” Belle answered.

“Emma?” The woman asked again.

“Miss Swan.” The detective sitting next to her moved some of his papers in front of her.

“Yes, exactly.” Belle confirmed. “She can confirm everything!”

“Yes.” The woman leafed through the pages. “Miss Emma Swan... repeatedly got away from the foster system... at age 18 she received a sentence for theft on a large scale... in prison she gave birth to a child which she gave away for adoption... the father is unknown... was a bails bondsperson... disappeared four years ago. Well, this is a reliable witness. Where and how did you meet Miss Swan? Is Mr. Gold the father of her child too?”

“No.” Belle shook her head. “His son!”

“His son?” the woman raised her eyebrows. “Gideon Gold, age 11 months.” she read from the documents.

“No.” Belle said, embarrassed. “Another... his eldest son... Baelfire... Neall! Neal Cassidy!”

“Baelfire Neal Cassidy, the eldest son of Mr. Gold, about which a single record doesn’t exist, as well as about you?”, the woman clarified.

“Just Neal.” Belle answered. “He wasn't called Baelfire here ... anywhere else ...”

“In Storybrooke, in which you and Miss Swan live and, according to you, Mr. Gold lived before he stole your child?” asked the inspector.

“Not really ... Before we got to Storybrooke, we lived even further from there ... It's hard to explain ...”

“Yes.” the woman agreed. “Like everything in your story. What happened to the baby after giving birth? Did Mr. Gold immediately take it from you?”

“No.” Belle shook her head. “I gave it to mother superior.”

“What for?” The woman was surprised.

“So she would hide him from Gold.” Belle answered. “But in reality it was not Mother Superior, it was Regina!”

“So you gave your newborn baby to Regina Gold, who was mistaken for the abbess of the monastery in Storybrooke to hide him from your ex-husband, Mr. Gold?” She turned to the policeman sitting next to her. ”Detective, has Miss French been examined for drugs in her system after the arrest?”

“Yes.” he nodded. “Everything is clean.”

“Well, I think we also need a psychiatric examination.” She made a few notes.

“I understand everything sounds unusual, but Gideon is my son! Please help me get him back!” Belle exclaimed.

“Who you gave birth to in Storybrooke, in the monastery, under the supervision of Miss Swan.” the inspector nodded.

“So it was!” Belle pleaded. “You must believe me!”

“I believe the documents, Miss French.” She looked at Belle over her glasses. “Since we must carefully review any allegations of child abduction, I requested all the necessary documents for Mr. Gold's son. It is stated in them that Regina Gold gave birth to him at the Lennox Hills Clinic on December 4 last year. Where she had been observed then”, she traced a finger on the page, “and where now is being observed for her second pregnancy. This child, I hope, is not yours, Miss French?”

“They faked all these documents, isn't that obvious?!” Belle cried out in despair.

“You know what is obvious to me, Miss French?” The woman took off her glasses and set the folder aside. “It is obvious to me that you do not have a single document, including an identity card. Moreover, you are not in any database. You never had medical insurance, credit cards, you never paid taxes, you haven’t rent housing, you didn’t study at any educational institution... We even know your name only from your words. We do not know who you are. Also, from your words, we know that you live in a certain city named Storybrooke, in the state of Maine, which nevertheless does not appear on any map or in any register. You are a nonexistent person from a nonexistent city. And you want us to believe your stories? We're done, Miss French.” She got up, put the folder in her briefcase and headed for the exit.

“No, wait!” Belle rushed after her, but a guard stopped her.

“I will send you my evaluation today, detective. Goodbye, Miss French.” The woman dissapeared behind the door.

“No!” Belle shouted. “No! Why don’t you believe me?!”

“Probably because your version does not hold water.” ,the detective answered her. “For now you will return to the cell, and the day after tomorrow you will appear before the court. Mr. and Mrs. Gold have sued you and Miss Swan.”

“A lawsuit?” Belle was amazed. “Did they file a lawsuit?”

“Exactly.” the detective nodded. “You have chosen the wrong family to persecute. Take Miss French back to the cell.”, he nodded to the guard.

***

Gold was the first to enter the judge’s office, as always in a strict three-piece suit and black coat. Following him, leaning on his hand, the Queen entered, wrapped in a luxurious silver fur coat. “I apologize for being late.” Gold smiled, helping the Queen take off her fur coat. “Horrible traffic jams this time of the day in Manhattan.” Belle and Emma, already seated at their corner, looked at them with hostility.

“It's okay.” the judge nodded. “Have a seat.” After hanging the fur coat and his coat, Gold moved the chair for the Queen and sat down next to her at their table.

“My lawyer must have sent you all the necessary documents.”, he turned to the judge.

“Yes, of course.” the judge confirmed. “But as you are aware, we cannot proceed without some formalities.” he continued. “We need to uphold the protocol. I'm sorry we had to disturb you.” He looked at the Queen.

“The law is the law.” She laid her hands on the table, a ring with a big diamond sparkling on her ring finger.

“Let's begin.” The judge turned to Gold. “Mr. Gold, do you know Miss French?”

“No.” Gold shook his head. “I have never seen this woman. I didn’t know anything about her before the day she broke into my house.”

“He's lying!” shouted Belle. “How can you, Rumple?!”

“Miss French.” the judge turned to her. “I ask you to refrain from such displays. You will be given the opportunity to speak.”

“But he is lying!” Belle continued. “We were married!”

“Once again, I ask you to be more restrained, Miss French.” the judge repeated.

“But this is ridiculous!” Belle did not let go.

“Miss French, I will not repeat it again.” the judge said sternly. “You will receive a fine for contempt of court. Mrs. Gold” he turned to the Queen, “Do you know Miss French?”

“I have never seen her before.” the Queen shrugged.

“She's lying too!” Belle jumped up from her chair.

“Miss French,” the judge said in exasperation, “I charge you a fine for contempt of court. Sit down, Miss French! You will have the chance to speak.”

“But it's ...” Belle began.

“You will. Have. Your turn.” repeated the judge. “Let's continue. Mr. Gold. Miss French also filed a lawsuit against you, in which she claims that she is the mother of your child.”

“Which one?” Gold smiled, putting his hand on his wife’s stomach. The judge grinned slightly. “I can’t comment on this crazy statement.” Gold continued. “As I said, I first saw Miss French yesterday, when she appeared on my doorstep. Just like miss ... Excuse me, what's your name?” He turned to Emma.

“My name is Emma.” she answered with dislike. “Emma Swan, and you know that.”

“Exactly.” Gold nodded. “Miss Swan, who was illegally spying on my family. I ask you, your honor, to protect me and my family from the persecution of these women. I also ask you to charge Miss French ten thousand dollars in compensation for the material damage caused to my family by her actions.” 

“Oh my god, Rumple.” Belle breathed. “I don't recognize you!”

“My wife” Gold continued calmly, not paying any attention to Belle, “was forced to spend two days in the clinic after Miss French appeared, under the supervision of doctors, to make sure that the stress she experienced did not affect the child.” He handed the judge a bill from the Lennox Hills clinic.

“Your turn to speak, Miss French.” The judge turned to Belle.

“I demand a DNA test!” Belle said firmly. “This is my child! And Mr. Gold is lying, just like his wife. I demand a DNA test, and I demand sole custody of my son!”

“I see no reason to satisfy your demands.” The judge went back to the documents again. “A fruitless investigation was conducted prompted by your statement for kidnapping, as a result of which you are refused to initiate such proceedings. In this scenario, the test is only possible with the consent of Mr. and Mrs. Gold.”

“We’d rather not.” Gold smiled.

“You are in collusion with him!” Belle exclaimed. “How much did he pay you?”

“You can appeal my decision to a higher court.” the judge calmly answered. “Although, I’ll tell you frankly, you are wasting your time. No judge in this situation will make a different decision on the forced DNA examination. Miss French, I charge you with a restraining order. From now on, you cannot approach Mr. Gold and his family closer than a hundred meters. You must also pay Mr. Gold's compensation of ten thousand dollars. Miss Swan, I charge you as well with a restraining order; from now on you cannot approach Mr. Gold’s family closer than a hundred meters. On this, the case is closed.”

“Come on, honey.” Gold stood up and held out his hand to his wife.

“Rumple!” Belle jumped up from her chair and rushed towards him. “How can you do this to me?!”

“Miss French.” ,Gold answered calmly, “You obviously violate the court’s order of one hundred meters of distance between us. I would recommend you moving a little further back.” He wrapped the Queen again with her large coat, put on his own and, taking his wife by the arm, left the court.

*** 

“We won’t make it!” Belle whispered.

“We can do absolutely everything.” Emma answered her, not taking her eyes off Gold's house. “I'm the Savior, remember?”

“But not here.” Belle continued. “Not in a world without magic!”

“I am very familiar with this world” Emma reassured her. “I grew up here, I was a bounty hunter here, don’t forget this.”, she smiled at Belle.

“I think they are not going to go anywhere!” Belle squealed nervously.

“They have tickets to the opera for today.” Emma held the binoculars up to her eyes. “They’ll leave any minute now, only the nanny will remain in the house. Oh look, here they are!” Gold and Regina appeared on the doorstep. He was still in his black coat; she was still in her silver-furred long coat. Leading his wife by the arm to the car, Gold opened the door and helped Regina sit down. Then he got behind the wheel and a minute later their Cadillac disappeared from sight.

“Come on!” Emma commanded but as soon as she got out of the car, she got herself launched into Hook’s arms, appearing out of nowhere.

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked in amazement.

“You didn’t think I would let you jump into this snake’s pit alone, did you?” Hook grinned. “I'm coming with you, love!”

“So let's go in now!” Emma kissed him on the cheek and ran to the house. They made their way to the back door. “It's all about the tumblers.” Emma commented, as always, opening the lock. Finally, it snapped open. “Welcome.” Emma grinned, opening the door. They got in and quickly went through the whole house, room by room.

“He is not here!” Belle said in horror.

“He must be.” Emma looked around. “We have to check the house more carefully, check the cabinets, pantries. She entered the nursery then and looked into the closet. “She couldn't have gotten far from here.” Emma said thoughtfully.

“Hush!” Belle whispered. “Did you hear that?”

“No.” Emma listened. “I don't hear anything.”

“Come on!” Belle stepped out in the corridor. “They should be somewhere nearby, I'm sure that I heard a child's voice. Behind from exactly that wall. She pushed the door between the nursery and the bedroom and found herself in the dressing room which they had already looked into before: shelves on the walls and in the middle several rows of hangers with Regina's dresses. “Gideon!” Belle called. Somewhere towards the end of the consoles with hangers there was some barely noticeable movement. Jones pushed one of them to the side and all three saw a woman with a child in her arms, previously hidden by the dresses. “Gideon!” Belle rushed to them. But the nanny only pressed the child closer to her. “Please give him to me!” Belle pleaded. “This is my son! Gold took him from me!”

“Mr. Gold warned me about you.” The nanny backed away from her. “Sorry, Miss French, but I won’t give you the baby.”

“Come on!” Hook grabbed the gun from his chest holder. “Will you give your life for him?”

“Please don't do this.”, whispered the nanny, stepping back even further from them. The lights suddenly went out in the house.

“That’s the police.” Emma breathed. “We don't have time.” The next moment, several flashlights lit around the room.

“Sir, put the gun down!” A policeman in body armor approached Hook. “Put it on the floor slowly and raise your hands so that I can see them.”

***

Gold and the Queen left the Lincoln Center building. Waiting for the valet to get the car, Gold pulled his phone from the pocket. “And again someone is very persistent…” he peered at the screen. “Eight missed from one number.”

“Who are they from?”, the Queen asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Gold pressed the call button.

“Detective Rotenberg.” the receiver answered.

“This is quite unexpected.” He opened the Queen’s door to the Cadillac which arrived just in time and helped her sit down. “This is Gold.” he said, closing the car door.

“Mr. Gold, you need to urgently come to the station,” the detective said.

“Did something happen? Gold tightened up.

“It seems to me this is not a conversation we should have over the phone” the detective replied. “We are waiting for you at the station.”

“Can I take my wife home before coming to you?” asked the man, changing the expression on his face.

“I think it’s best to bring Mrs. Gold with you” the detective said warily.

“I'm coming!” Gold hung up.

“Honey, we will need to drop by the station.” he informed the Queen as lighthearted as possible. “There are some other formalities that need to be settled.”

“Can't you do it tomorrow?” She laid her head on his shoulder. “I'm exhausted...”

“The detective insists that I come today,” her husband sighed. “You know, bureaucracy is a nasty thing. But I think it won’t take much time.” he kissed her on the cheek. “You can wait for me in the car, take a nap.” he groped the lever and threw back the back of her seat. “Go to sleep, baby.” Gold smiled, driving off.

*** 

“What happened?” Gold practically flew into the building.

“Mr. Gold.” the attendant jumped on his feet. “Everything is already in order. Don’t worry. Detective Rotenberg is waiting for you. Please.” He held out his hand, indicating the direction. Gold quickly went inside.

“Mr. Gold.” the detective stood up to greet him. “Where is your wife?”

“It's none of your business!” Gold snapped. “What happened?”

“A few hours ago, an alarm went off in your house.” the detective began. “Our officers who arrived at the scene detained the three perpetrators who entered your house. Miss French and Miss Swan who you already know, as well as a certain Killian Jones, who threatened Mrs. Sevage, your nanny, with a gun.”

“Did something happen to my son?” He turned pale.

“Everything is all right.” the detective assured him. “After our officers detained all three, we brought your son and Mrs. Sevage here to the station. You need to write a statement and pick up the child, since we can’t simply send him home with the nanny alone.”

“Thank God.” Gold sank into a chair across from Rotenberg. “Why couldn't you say all this over the phone? Do you have any idea what hell I had to think of all the way to here?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Gold, we are supposed to do just that according to the procedure.” the detective shrugged.

“Can I see the detainees?” He suddenly asked.

“Do you really want to?” The detective asked.

“Perhaps not.” Gold said after thinking. “Let's just finish this quickly. What and where should I sign?”

“Here.” Rothenbreg handed him several papers.

“What will happen to those three?” He returned them to the detective, all signed.

“They have a solid track record.” he answered. “Violation of the restraining order, breaking and entering, attempted kidnapping of a minor, armed assault... I think you are not to see them again for the next twenty-five years.” Rotenberg smiled.

“Perfect!” Gold got up from his chair. “Where is my son?”

“He’s with Mrs. Sevage, this way.” The detective also got up from his desk and motioned at Gold to follow him. In one of the interrogation rooms, in a chair, sat a woman playing with a child in her arms.

“Gideon!” Gold went into the room and took his son in his arms. “How glad I am to see you, little man!” he smiled at his son. “Mrs. Sevage,” he turned to the woman, “I'm so sorry that you had to go through all this.”

“Don’t mention it, Mr. Gold.” she dismissed him. “I knew everything was going to be just fine. The police arrived so quickly, I did not even have time to get scared.”

“You are a good person, Mrs. Sevage.” he smiled, putting a thick bundle of notes onto the woman's palm. “I have one more request, if you will.”

“Of course!” She hid the money in her pocket. “Anything, Mr. Gold.”

“Could you come back to our house with Gideon and put him to bed? I would do it myself, but I need to take care of Mrs. Gold.”

“Certainly.” the nanny nodded. “I will be glad to help.”

*** 

After having approached the house, Gold turned to the nanny: “I think you should be the first to go back inside the house.” he told her quietly.

“I understand, Mr. Gold.” the woman nodded, getting out of the car. “We will be in the nursery.”, she whispered.

“Honey...”Gold carefully kissed his wife after a while.

“Mmmmm ... Rumple ...” the Queen muttered through her sleep. He got out of the car and going around it, he opened the door, squatting next to Regina.

“We are already at home.” he whispered, carefully lifting the seatback.

“That's nice.” the Queen yawned. “What happened at the station?”

“Everything is all right.” He ran a hand through her hair. “Now everything is in order- in general. Come, let’s put you to bed.”

“With you?” Regina reached out, looking at Gold with a smile.

“By all means.” he smiled back at her. “I’ll just let go of the nanny.” He went up with his tired wife to the bedroom and helped her undress. “Sleep baby” He whispered affectionately, carefully covering her with a blanket. “I'll be back soon.” He left the room and looked into the nursery. Gideon was sleeping peacefully in his crib, while the nanny was rocking it gently.

“Thank you, Mrs. Sevage.” Gold sat next to her, taking her by the shoulders. “You are very brave.”

“Don’t mention it, Mr. Gold.” the nanny answered groggily. “I knew the police would be here in a minute.”

“Do you want to stay with us in the guest bedroom or should I call you a taxi?”, he asked.

“Better call a taxi, Mr. Gold.” said Mrs. Sevage. “My children are waiting for me at home.”

“Good.” the man grabbed his phone. “And take this for your children.” He took out a few more notes from his pocket.

“You're too kind, Mr. Gold.” the nanny blushed.

“Not at all.” He made the arrangements with the taxi driver and hung up. “Good night, Mrs. Sevage.”

“And good night to you, Mr. Gold!” The woman got up and headed for the exit. Gold returned to the bedroom.

“Good night, darling” he whispered to the Queen, who was already fast asleep. “Now everything will be all right for good.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Look how quickly it got warmer.” The Queen looked out of the bedroom window, squeezing between the curtains. “Yesterday there was still frost, and today melted streams flow down the street.”

“Yes…” Gold answered without opening his eyes.

“And it’s already bright in the morning.” She sharply opened the curtains.

“No, close them!”, he covered his eyes with his hand. “It’s too bright.”

“As you wish.” the Queen shrugged. “Are you all right?” She went to her husband and sat on the edge of the bed. “Off course, it’s not dark outside but it’s not very sunny either. Not that bright.”

“Everything is fine.” Gold breathed out, still, with his eyes closed. “Listen; can you bring me an aspirin pill?”

“And you say everything is fine?” She touched the back of her hand to his forehead.

“Yes.”, he lay still. “My head, it just hurts. Give me half an hour and an aspirin and everything will be just wonderful.”

“You are as pale as a canvas.” The Queen peered at his face. “Look at me.” He barely opened his eyes and looked at her with a cloudy look. “Perhaps I'll call Stern.” The Queen reached for the phone.

“That's redundant.” he closed his eyes again. “The aspirin tablets will be enough.”

“We'll see.” She dialed the number. Twenty minutes later, Gold was already being examined by a doctor from the Stern Clinic.

“Can you look at me? Now up a bit?” he said as he shone a flashlight at his eyes.

“Is it really necessary to do this?” Gold winced from the bright light.

“I'm afraid so.”, the doctor nodded. “Can you follow my finger?... Can you smile at me?... Can you raise both hands at the same time?... Blow your cheeks?...Hold it…”

“Can we get this over with?” Gold asked irritably.

“Just a couple more minutes.” He made a few notes on the chart. “Can you tilt your head forward and down?... Make your chin touch your chest?... Fine…” Then he checked his pulse and pressure, examined his neck and chest and felt the lymph nodes. “I don’t see anything serious here.” the doctor concluded. “You have high blood pressure but that’s quite natural at your age and with such sudden changes in weather.”

“Natural?”, the Queen intervened. “This is the first time I have seen my husband like that, and you’re telling us that this is natural? For us, it isn’t.”

“You contacted our clinic for the first time, I see.” he flipped over the patient’s chart. “Haven’t you ever had a rise in your blood pressure before? Hasn’t your previous therapist prescribed you anything?”

“Before your arrival, I hadn’t suspected that I had anything like it.” Gold answered.

“Well, you could say you're lucky. Many people face similar problems much earlier.” He reached into his bag. “I will give you an injection which will make you sleep for several hours and help your pressure drop. I will also prescribe you pills that you will take twice a day.”

“For how long?” Gold asked.

“Well ... always.” He began to write the recipe. “Also, twice a day, you will need to measure the blood pressure, and if it rises, you will need to contact me so that I can adjust the treatment. This does not apply to weather dependent situations, as it was today. In this case, I recommend taking a double dose and contact me only if this doesn’t help. However, you can do this in any situations that bother you a lot. I will be happy to advise you further. I will leave you my personal number. Dr. Stern informed me that you are a special patient. So you can call me anytime.”

“Nonsense.” Gold grimaced. “Never in my life has this happened.”

“Everything happens for the first time at some point.”, the doctor shrugged, collecting liquid from the ampoule into the syringe, “and you are really lucky that this has happened to you for the first time only now.” He looked at the chart, “When you are 55. I assure you many of my thirty-year-old patients with similar problems would you share my point of view. May I?” He rolled up his sleeve on Gold's pajamas and injected him with the medicine. Pretty quickly the room spun around. Waking up, Gold found that the Queen was lying next to him, hugging him with care.

“Have you been here all this time?”, he reached out and hugged her.

“Yeah.” She rubbed her nose against his shoulder, snuggling closer to him. “How do you feel?”

“Excellent.” Gold shrugged.

“We need to get back to your castle.” She looked at him intensely.

“What?” He asked in surprise.

“This guy is right.” the Queen continued. “About your age. How old are you now? Two hundred? Three hundred years? It didn’t matter in our world, you were protected by magic. But what will happen to you here?”

“We can't go back.” Gold sat on the bed. “We don’t know how the world of magic will affect your pregnancy, our baby. We cannot take risks.”

“Yes, but we also don’t know how the world without magic affects you.” Regina looked at her husband full of worry. “What if it kills you? What then?”

“Well, then it will not be easy for you.” Gold smiled. “Such a wealthy single woman like yourself will attract a lot of gold diggers. You will have to filter very carefully all those men who will want to be with you.”

“Do you think this is funny ?!” The Queen was boiling.

“I think you're looking for problems where they are not.” He pulled her close to him and kissed her. “Absolutely nothing has happened yet. We are talking only about mild ailment, and not about mortal danger.”

“That appeared to you for the first time in 300 years.” She recoiled from Gold, looking seriously at him. “What shall we wait for next?”

“In any case, we will not risk our daughter’s life.” he replied just as seriously. “Whatever happens to me here is not that important. What’s important is that she gets born and lives. My daughter is more important to me.”

“What about me?” She jumped out of bed and walked around the room. “I cannot lose you.”

“Regina.”, he looked at her carefully. “I don't like what I see now. You know everything about me. You know how important my children are to me. And if, at least in theory, you’re ready to give up my daughter ... I don’t know what to say.”

“I do not want to give her up!” She sat down on the bed again, leaned against Gold. “You too know everything about me, how long I have waited for this child. But just as long I have been waiting for you. I do not want to choose, I want both of you. But what if this is not possible?” She pressed closer to him, lowering her head to his chest.

“We won’t think about it now.”, he squeezed her shoulders. “Everything is all right now.”

“Tell me that this will never stop.” She settled in his arms.

“This will never stop.” He kissed the top of her head. “I promise.”


	12. Chapter 12

“I'll get it.” Regina got up from the carpet, where she and Gold were playing with their son, and headed for the hallway. The doorbell rang again. “I'm coming!” The Queen shouted as she approached the door. Opening, she saw Charming, Henry and her other half.

“And why am I not surprised?” She grinned. All three looked at her in amazement.

“You ... you are pregnant.” Mayor Mills finally managed to say. “Emma did not tell us ...”

“If you came to congratulate me, let’s assume you’ve already done it.” the Queen grimaced, interrupting her. “What do you all need here?”

“We need you and Gold to get Emma, Belle and Hook out of jail.” Charming stepped forward. “Where they got in because of you!”

“They went to jail because they were trying to steal our son.” Regina said irritably. “And they belong there.”

“But they can still be released, at your request.” Charming did not back down. “And you must do it!”

“Why?”, the Queen laughed. “They all got what they deserved.”

”Honey, who is it?” Gold appeared from the living room. “Oh, of course.” he smiled. “Who would doubt that the whole cohort would come to us after Emma. Such an honor, what can we do for you?” he hugged his wife.

“This time, you have to get their relatives and friends out of trouble.” she leaned back against her husband, arms folded across her chest. “Even in a world without magic, our friends will have a job for you.”

“Not going to.” He looked around the whole company. “Besides, even if I wanted, I can’t do anything. They are charged with attempted abduction of the child and an armed attack. This is a public charge. My voice here means nothing. So it’s best to find out the appointment schedule set for them in prison and start visiting them .”

“I know you.” Charming continued. “I'm certain you already have enough connections in this city to grant the petition for leniency.”

“Even if I could help them” ,Gold shrugged, “why would I do that?”

“In this case, we all know who actually abducted the child here and we will find a way to destroy you.” Mayor Mills looked at him with hostility. “As Mayor of Storybrooke I can ...”

“As Mayor of Storybrooke, you cannot do anything, Miss Mills,” Gold interrupted her.

“I can initiate an investigation into the disappearance of Miss French’s child at a federal level.” the Mayor continued. “What do you think, how fast will it turn out that you forged all your documents?”

“Good luck finding Miss French's child.” he smiled. “If we are done, I must ask you to leave.”

“Mom, please.” Henry said to the Queen. “You can't do this to Emma and the others. You have to help her! Do it for me, for your son.”

“Henry, darling.” The Queen stepped toward the teenager and ran the back of her fingers across his cheeks. “We are no longer a family. Between me and ... well, me you didn’t choose myself.” She shook her head. “Don't think I'm not sorry. After all, I also raised you all these years. I was your mother no less than Miss Mills. And it hurts me because you chose her and Miss Swan. But you know, a similar moment comes in the life of every parent. The moment when you need to let your child go and let him live his life. And so I let you go, Henry. You are already fifteen years old, you are quite almost a young adult. You can decide for yourself and I respect your decisions.”

“That how it is then?”, scoffed Henry. “You will have a new baby soon, so you don't care about me now? And you are ready to forget all about me?”

“I already have a child.” she smiled. “And soon there will be a second one. But all this has nothing to do with you Henry. The fact is, you abandoned your mother. This is bitter, but such is life. Don't call me that anymore. Here is your mother.” She nodded to her half.

“Oh so this is it?” Mayor Mills raised her eyebrows. “Are you ready to abandon our son now?”

“Now he has become ours?”, the Queen grinned. “How convenient.”

“You know”, the Mayor glared at the Queen, “we are one, we are twins. I can apply a petition for leniency myself. And I’m not just submitting a petition for leniency, I’m also writing a couple of statements against Gold. About the falsification of documents, about how he forced me to lie in court and several other statements of that sort.”

“Well, it’s unlikely to succeed.” her half shrugged. “Because you, as I recall, Miss Mills, came here from Storybrooke. We are, of course, remarkably similar, but what do you have to do with Mrs. Gold, who came to New York from Washington? Not to mention the differences in our appearance”, she ran her hand across her stomach.

“Mrs. Gold?” The Mayor looked at the Queen in surprise.

“It wasn’t obvious to you until now?” the Queen was surprised in return.

“Listen, Mrs. Gold.” the Mayor said with hostility, leaning forward to the Queen. “You can call yourself whatever you want, you can fake an identity card, but I have an ace up my sleeve. You are me. Everything that happens to me will happen to you. Just think about that. I don’t know if this works in a world without magic, but we can check. Besides, for how long are you going to stay here?”

“Are you ready to sacrifice yourself for Miss Swan and the pirate?” the Queen said in admiration.

“I am ready to sacrifice myself to rid the world of you forever!” the Mayor narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, you really are ready for it…”, she said fearfully. “That changes the matter...”

“Come on.” Gold laughed, holding his wife tighter. “Miss Mills, do you really think that I did not protect my wife from this? Or have you already forgotten about the shears of fate?”

“What?” She took a step back. “But this is impossible! She was always only a part of me, not a separate person. One cannot cut off the fate of someone who never existed on their own.”

“I had to make some efforts”, Gold nodded, “to slightly modify the way the shears worked. But it was worth it. My wife has long had nothing to do with you, dear Mayor of Storybrooke. I managed to completely separate you.” On the threshold, behind the uninvited guests, a woman appeared. “Mrs. Savage! You are here just in time.” Gold held out his hand to her. “Come here.”

“Pardon me.” The woman squeezed between the heroes standing in the doorway.

“Mrs. Savage.”, he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Do you remember the man who put a gun to your head? Now these nice people will explain to us why you should file a petition for his pardon.”

“I ... I don't quite understand you, Mr. Gold.” the woman said, looking in amazement at Regina Mills.

“I myself do not really understand yet.”, he looked again at the newcomers. “So what? Who goes first?”, he asked with a smile on.

“Stop it.” Mayor Mills grimaced. “What is this drivel?”

“Drivel?” Gold asked. “Dearie, we're not in Storybrooke, not just anything is allowed here. Here you can’t just, with impunity, break into other people's homes and wave weapons in the face of innocent people. I’ll explain it again: this is a public charge. Breaking and entering into a stranger’s house, armed attack and attempted abduction. And it’s not only my wife and I who have suffered. Here, in front of you is a woman which Hook threatened to kill. Explain to her why she should ask for his pardon. After all it’s not only us, but also her who must submit a petition. Excuse me, Mrs. Savage.” he said to the bewildered woman. “You have survived quite enough to be involved in this showdown too. Gideon is in the living room, you can go, I will explain everything later.”

“Of course, Mr. Gold.” the nanny nodded with uncertainty, still looking at Madame Mayor. “All the best.”, she smiled automatically at the guests on the doorway and quickly walked towards the living room.

“Do you really expect this to have an effect?” Mayor Mills grinned. “We both understand that Hook would not hurt her.”

“Is that so?” Gold asked with interest. “And if he did, the hell with that, yes? After all, he fought for a just cause. Look at yourself, Miss Mills, for you this woman is a nobody. Just a servant which there is no need to consider. So it was in your castle, so it was in Storybrooke. There is only you and your friends. All the rest are not important. They can be sacrificed at any time. You ripped off the Evil Queen from yourself, not realizing that all the rot that was inside stemmed from you, and not her.”

“Hey” the Queen slightly nudged him on the side with her elbow. “It’s not very polite to talk about *our rot* with me present, don’t you think?”

“I won't do it again.” Gold smiled, kissing her shoulder gently. “Now the hearing is over.”, he said to the trinity on the threshold. “Good luck with your research, Madame Mayor!”

*** 

“I don't like all this.” the Queen hugged her husband as the door closed behind the heroes. “What are we going to do?”

“Let's go have dinner at Masa, as we were going to.” Gold answered calmly.

“I'm serious!” She pulled away a little from him, looking into his eyes.

“And I’m serious too.” He pulled her back to him. “Do you think it's so easy to book a nice table on Friday night? Go get dressed, and let's go.”

“Are you not bothered at all by our guests today?” The Queen asked.

“Not at all.” Gold answered. “Whatever they plan, we can handle it.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Oh, she did it again!” The Queen took Gold's hand and pressed it to her stomach. “Wait, now it will come again. Do you feel it?”

“And I even see it.” Gold put both hands on her stomach. He reclined on the couch, leaning against one of the armrests. The Queen settled comfortably on his chest. “She is brisk.” He kissed his wife on the temple and again plunged into the stock exchanges, which were running on the TV screen. He didn’t take his hands off, however.

“Since she woke up, she is going to show everyone.” She settled herself more comfortably.

“That's right.” He waved after the child’s movements. “Hey.” He slightly tickled his wife’s side. “Give me five!” Almost immediately after this, he felt a slight push in the palm of his hand. “Look, she’s responding.”

“She’s just responding to the vibration.”, the Queen smiled.

“Well, don’t spoil everything.”, he kissed the Queen again. “Here it is, that’s real magic.” His phone rang.

“You need to come urgently to the precinct on 19th Street.” ,Judge Trenton said in an agitated voice. “The captain just called me. Regina is there. Police officers detained her for drunk driving. They will not start a case, but you must urgently pick up your wife before the news of her detention spread throughout the precinct and beyond.”

“How much did the captain drink himself?” Gold asked with a grin. “My wife is now by my side.”

“Are you sure?” ,the judge asked confused.

“I don’t even know.” He leaned toward Regina. “Girl, are you my wife?”

“Absolutely yours.” the Queen smiled, turning to her side and hugging him with one hand.

“You see?” he turned to his interlocutor. “For sure!”

“This is strange.” ,he continued after a pause. “He assured me that it was Regina. He had no doubt.”

“We saw him only once, as far as I can remember.” Gold shrugged. “At your birthday, where there were so many guests that he hardly can remember us well. Even I don’t remember what he looks like, to be honest. He is confusing her with someone else. In any case, thanks for calling.”

“Speaking of guests,” the judge said, “we are waiting for you on Saturday, remember?”

“Of course I remember.” Gold assured him. “Regina made me go shopping for three hours yesterday, so I could choose a dress for her for this dinner. She can’t do it herself, she doesn’t like anything. Can you imagine that?”

“Don’t tell me, I have three children, and every time it’s the same.” Trenton grinned.

“Well, thanks again for your concern. Say hello to your wife from Regina! See you.” He ended the call and put the phone away.

“And what were these strange questions?” The Queen sat astride him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Did anyone have doubts that we were married?” She leaned over and kissed his nose.

“No, there is no doubt.”, her husband assured her.

“So what was the conversation about?”, she asked.

“Miss Mills decided to stay in New York. And since she clearly has not abandoned her Storybrooke habit of driving after a glass of whiskey, New York met her in trouble. She's at the station. The authorities are sure that it’s you, so they haven’t started a case yet. Trenton asked me to pick you up as soon as possible.”

“This is bad.” the Queen frowned. “And what will you do?”

“I don’t know.” ,he pulled her to him and kissed her behind her ear. “It's hard to think when you’re sitting on me.”

“Stop that.” She put her hands on his chest, rising up. “We need to pick her up from the station.”

“You think so?” Her husband looked at her thoughtfully.

“I think so.” the Queen nodded. “She's my twin and a Regina too. People will have a ton of questions about her. The fewer people saw her, the better. We need to pick her up from there as soon as possible.”

“If we rush after her to the station right after Trenton’s call, there will be no less questions and maybe even more.”, Gold objected.

“At least she won’t be giving an explanation yet. Including the topic of who she is and where she came from”, the Queen retorted.

“She started giving them almost immediately after I hung up.” Gold dismissed. “But what can she say? She has no more reasonable explanations than we do. Perhaps we can let Miss Mills enjoy the New York police, it might serve us well. As a politician, she will be discredited by this scandalous detention. Perhaps this will slightly reduce her fervor. She promised to squeeze us dry, just like the Mayor of Storybrooke would.

“But still, we need to come up with some explanation.”, the Queen sighed. “Sooner or later we will need it.”

“Maybe a sister who disappeared in infancy?” Gold grinned. “Let's check if you have a birthmark.”

“Very funny.” ,the Queen grimaced.

“In any case, Miss Mills is on the move.” Gold shrugged. “We'll wait and see what she says. I think we will find out pretty soon.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Miss Mills.” The detective entered the interrogation room with a folder of papers and her documents in his hands.

“Well, finally.” The Mayor looked displeased at the policeman. “Do you keep everyone waiting for so long, detective?”

“You are not the only one detained at the station.” ,the detective answered calmly, sitting down at the table opposite her.

“Am I still detained?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought you came to return my documents to me and apologize.”

“As far as I can see, you are detained for drunk driving, Miss Mills.” He turned over a few pages in the folder. “Here, in front of me lies the detention report from when you were pulled over by our police officers.

“So ...” Regina looked at the detective with interest. “And now what?”

“Since this is your first detention,” he pretended to carefully examine the documents in the folder, “I think we can do with administrative penalties. Since it’s the first time, we will not bring the case to court. You will pay a fine and the case will be closed.”

“Oh really?” She broke into a smile. “What generosity, detective “what’s-your-name”! Do you know what I think about this “case”? I think you have nothing to show me. You messed around and are now trying to powder my brains so that I do not file a complaint about illegal detention. And you yourself know how many violations you have committed over the past couple of hours. But you make a mistake again, considering me a naive fool.”

“I have a report in my hands.” the detective recalled. “You were detained for drunk driving. I would advise you to behave a little more modestly.”

“And I would advise you better crumple this piece of paper,” the Mayor laughed, “then maybe it will be useful to you for something. All you have is a report, compiled by your patrolmen, who thought I was drunk, and which, if you noticed, I didn’t even sign. After compiling this really “useful” paper, I was taken to the department and immediately sent here to this room. There was no blood alcohol test, there is therefore no act signed by the doctor. And now it makes no sense to carry it out. First off, during an hour and a half I could have sobered up if I was drunk. Secondly, during the detention, your employees did not seize my personal belongings from me.” She took out a flask from the inside pocket of her jacket and put it on the table. “What do you think, how much could I have drunk in an hour and a half time?”

“There's a camera here.” The detective nodded uncertainly to the side.

“Yes, and if it had been turned on all this time, we could see on the record how I was going like this.” She sipped from the flask, looking at her interlocutor. “Too bad the camera is off, as we both know.”

“Who are you?” The detective leaned a little across the table.

“A strange question for the person who holds my documents in his hands.” Regina shrugged. “Miss Regina Mills, from Storybrooke. Actually, I'm the Mayor of Storybrooke. And from this position, I was very interested in the work of the New York City police. The number of violations I saw today is simply unbelievable. In my town, several people would have been fired.”

“The place is overloaded.” the detective returned her documents to her. “Because of this, there are overlays in such minor matters ...”

“... which you try to cover up at the expense of citizens who you have nothing substantial against.” Regina nodded, putting her driver’s license in her pocket. “The scandal surrounding this minor matter can be huge.”

“What do you want, Miss Mills?” the detective looked at her suspiciously.

“Well, for example, to find out why the East Side police has such a special relationship with the Gold family.” Regina leaned on her arm, looking inquiringly at her interlocutor.

“I don't understand what you're talking about.” ,the detective shrugged.

“Oh, you understand very well,” the Mayor smiled. “I'm an exact copy of her, am I not? Hence all the violations.”

“I have nothing more to say to you, Miss Mills.” He stood up and headed for the exit. “You are free to go. Oh, yes, your keys.” He turned around and put the car keys on the table. “However, I recommend you call a taxi. The second time, you may not be so lucky.” He left the room.

“Well, no one expected it to be that simple.” Regina told herself, leaving after him.

*** 

Gold was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, with a glass of cognac and a newspaper. The Queen sat at his feet, on the fluffy carpet. Her head resting on his hip, she looked at the logs crackling in the fire, automatically stroking her husband's ankle and listening to the sounds of leisurely thoughtful jazz, barely audible from the speaker on the mantelpiece. Outside the window it was already dark, and the room was lit only by the gleam of fire from the fireplace and a dim table lamp on the coffee table near the chair. Gold put down the newspaper, realizing that he was already beginning to fall asleep and had difficulty understanding the words he was reading. “Are you comfortable there?” He gently stroked his wife's hair, while putting the glass on the table.

“Yeah.” She raised her head and reached for a kiss.

“Come to me.” Kissing the Queen, he gently pulled her up by the chin.

“Better you.” Slipping out of his hands, she leaned back on the carpet, leaning on her elbows. “We didn’t find out today if I have a birthmark.” ,she smiled. He involuntarily stared at the glare of fire dancing on her naked milk shoulders. The thin silk strap of her cream shirt streamed by one shoulder, the second strap slipped down from her other shoulder onto her arm. Following it, the fabric of the shirt slipped as well, exposing part of her breast.

“So, are you coming?” Following his gaze, she gently shifted the second strap from her shoulder.

“By all means.” He sank onto the carpet next to her. Walked a trace with his fingertips along her shoulder, arm, ribs. Sinking lower and lower, he reached the hip while kissing her neck.

“Gold!” The voice of Miss Mills was heard from the street, simultaneously with a knock on the door. “Gold!”

“Oh look, this place is becoming more familiar by the minute.” ,the Queen sighed. “Everything is like back at home in Storybrooke.”

“It took her a long time to appear.” Gold looked at the clock above the fireplace. “I really hoped she wouldn't come today.”

“Gold!” The Mayor's voice was heard again.

“Go.” She lightly nudged her husband.

“Why me?” He was annoyed. “Maybe she's calling for you? You, by the way, are also a Gold. Have you forgotten that, Mrs.?”

“She wouldn't be calling me that, for sure.”, the Queen grinned.

“Okay, let's not delay the inevitable.” He got up and headed for the hallway. “Miss Mills! What a surprise.” He opened the door. “And what brought you to us this time of the day?”

“You already know about today's incident at the station?” She asked as she entered the hallway.

“Maybe.” Gold shrugged. “And what about it?”

“I was sure you did it ...” Regina began.

“If I had arranged it, you would not be here now.” Gold interrupted her.

“It’s quite obvious.” Regina agreed. “It turned out to be a happy occasion.”

“Happy?” Gold spelled out.

“Naturally.”, the Mayor nodded. “Now, up my sleeve, among other things, there is also sabotage by the New York police during the detention of Mrs. Gold for drunk driving. After all, precisely because I was a copy of her, they let me get away with everything. Don’t you think many will be interested in this? The police having a special relationship with the Gold family?”

“A weak argument, as you already know yourself.” Gold smiled. “Mrs. Gold was at home all day. And the fact that some idiots at the station turned out to be too busy to arrange your detention properly would not be connected with us at all.”

“Oh, please!” She sat down at the ottoman. “It will make a great scandal with all the consequences that come with it.”

“Come on.”, he held out his hand. “It's time for you and me to talk without tricks.” Mayor Mills looked at Gold in surprise, nevertheless giving him her hand. Raising her to her feet and taking off her coat, he took her by the shoulders and walked her into the living room.

“What a surprise!” The Queen was still sitting near the fireplace, in the same light shirt, moving from the carpet to the chair.

“I think you should put a little something on so our guest won’t be embarrassed.” He leaned over and kissed his wife, putting his hand on her stomach and out of the corner of his eye watching the Mayor’s reaction.

“As you wish.” She wanted to get up, but he held her back.

“Sit, I'll bring it.” he headed for the stairs. “Excuse me, Miss Mills, I will leave you for just a minute and after that we can begin discussing our problems.” Regina Mills remained standing still, a little bewildered by what was happening. She was ready for any kind of hassle, but not for an invitation to the house. While she was trying to figure out what Gold was up to, he was already back with a fluffy robe, into which he carefully wrapped his wife. “Have a seat, Miss Mills.” he pointed to a sofa nearby. “Whiskey?” Regina nodded indecisively. “Dear, do we still have McAllan?” He turned to the Queen while rummaging in a cabinet by the fireplace.

“We must.”, she nodded. “I'll go look in the kitchen.”

“Thank you.” Gold smiled at her, continuing to watch the Mayor out of the corner of his eye. “Do you know what I see?” He crouched next to her, watching her watching the Queen. “I see jealousy.”

“Please, who do you think you are?!” Miss Mills snapped, coming out of her stupor.

“I'm not talking about myself.” Gold held his hands up in a conciliatory manner. “I'm talking about her.” He pointed towards the kitchen. “About that part of you that, in your opinion, prevented you from finding a happy ending. You got rid of her and what happened? She has found her happiness and you still have not.”

“And we are coming back to you again.” ,the Mayor grinned sourly.

“Only partially.” Gold objected. “Look at her: she is happy and calm, she has found her place in this world and this place satisfies her completely. Where is your happy ending? Your life is still empty. That's what really bothers you. And not at all the innocently arrested Miss Swan.”

“Found it.” The Queen entered the living room with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in her hands. She splashed a little in both and handed them over to her husband and their guest.

“Thank you, darling.” Gold repeated. “Come here.” He held out his hand and set the Queen beside him, hugging her waist.

“Oh, please.” the Mayor grimaced, “Did you invite me in for this?”

“No.” Gold shook his head. “I want to understand what you want to achieve. Why did you start all this? I also want to ask you, are you sure that you want to start a war with me” -he emphasized the last word- “in any realm? Are you sure you're ready for this? Are you sure you have a goal that's worth it?”

“I think you underestimate me and my goals.” the Mayor grinned.

“Really?” Gold asked surprised. “We have already established you cannot rescue the pirate and Miss Swan from prison, since this is a public charge. You cannot take my son from me, because I am his father and his mother voluntarily refused him. So what, in fact, is your goal? What do you want, dearie? To squeeze me dry? Well, let's say you do it, and then what? You will lose much more, believe me. You see, I could simply not carry out these soul-saving conversations with you, still. And I don’t even know why I am doing this. Only out of my long-standing sympathy for you, apparently. Well, technically you're kind of like my mother-in-law. You kind of gave birth to my beloved wife. And I thank you for that. But my patience may end. I advise you to take a step back.”

“Do you really think that everything is going to be so simple?” She put down her glass of whiskey. “You invite me to the house, have a friendly talk with me, and that’s it?”

“That would be the wise thing for you to do.” Gold nodded. “After all, keep in mind that if we start fighting each other, it’s not only me who has skeletons in the closet. Frankly, you have an array of way worse in magnitude. After all, what will you show me? Forgery of documents? Yes, unpleasant, but not extremelly serious. Kidnapping a child? Nonsense. I am his father and his mother herself refused him. And there are witnesses to this in the glorious city of Storybrooke. In addition, she is now unwed and convicted for armed attack. While we have a full, prosperous family. Conclusion: you won’t take the child from me. What else? Perhaps that's all. And, yes, you are still going to try and scare me off with those couple of idiots at the police station who did not bother to organize correctly your today's detention. This is a powerful argument, of course. But at the same time, if we flip to your situation, we will find many reasons for federal investigations. You know, all these mysterious disappearances of people in Storybrooke. Mysterious deaths. Take, for example, the death of your previous sheriff, who Miss Emma Swan replaced, the one you now want to take care of. What did he officially die from? From acute heart failure at thirty? Do you think federal agents will be interested in the fact that at the time of death the sheriff had no heart at all?”

“Dr. Vale removed it during the autopsy.”, the Mayor objected.

“And why didn't he put it back after taking sections for histology?” Gold inquired. “Myocardial cells have a very specific structure. Even several years after death, medical examiners will be able to determine that there was no heart in the body. And this is just one weird case out of the many that Storybrooke abounds in. By the way, for how long have you been Mayor of Storybrooke? About thirty? And how old are you according to the documents? About thirty five? Don't you think this is also very strange? If we really start digging under Storybrooke, we will find so much that the Mayor will have enough to be convicted for life. Do you really want this now? When you remain the only mother for your son?”

“Henry will never forgive me”, the Mayor said quietly, “unless I get Emma and Hook out of jail.”

“I think it’s time for your son to understand that the whole world doesn’t obey his desires.”, the Queen entered into conversation. “Gideon is only one year old and he already knows that he cannot get everything he wants. I think it’s time for Henry to learn it as well.”

“What do you know about him?!”, the Mayor snapped.

“The same as you, dear.” the Queen replied calmly. “I was his mother no less than you. And I can tell you that this child sees absolutely no boundaries. He thinks the world exists only for him. It’s hard for me to say where you and I made a mistake. Perhaps the moment Miss Swan appeared in Storybrooke. But we raised a manipulator. And you have to correct it alone, unfortunately. Perhaps now that Miss Swan has been eliminated for a while, you could fix it.”

“Okay, it’s getting late.” Gold rose from the couch. “My wife and I have to go to bed and you have to go home now, Miss Mills. Come on, I'll accompany you.” He held out his hand again. Leaving his gesture unattended, she got up and headed for the hallway. “Think about what we told you.” Gold handed her the coat. “Now comes a turning point in your life. You can get drowned on the abyss of repetitive law suits and court sessions. Or you can get back your dear son. Everything depends on you.”

“I'll think about it.” the Mayor nodded, stepping out onto the porch.

“Also think about the fact that I still haven't sprinkled you with Black Fairy’s dust only because I am against senseless violence.” Gold told her after closing the door. Miss Mills stood on the threshold for a while.

“Do you think she’ll calm down now?” the Queen hugged her husband who once more crouched next to her.

“We'll see.” He kissed her, untying her robe. “Where were we?”


	15. Chapter 15

Gold woke up with a light kiss from his wife and the smell of coffee.

“Get up, sleepyhead.” Putting the breakfast tray on the nightstand, she sat down on the edge of the bed and bending over she kissed him again.

“When did you manage to get away from me?” Gold asked sleepily.

“Right at seven in the morning,”, the Queen smiled, “as soon as Gideon woke up. We already had breakfast, played, read, watched cartoons and we can no longer wait. We want to decorate the tree. And we planned to do this with you, so get up!”

“What time is it now?” He wrapped himself tightly with the blanket.

“It’s almost eleven o’clock.” she glanced at her watch. “Half past ten.”

“I'll sleep for another half hour.” Gold yawned.

“You have to sleep during the night,” the Queen pulled the blanket off him a little, “and not look at these little numbers at midnight.” She nodded at the plasma hanging opposite the bed, on the screen of which -as usual- stock indexes crawled silently.

“They are more interesting at night.” He pulled again the blanket almost up to his chin. “And is it even worth getting used to a night’s sleep? In a month, our night’s sleep will end again, for the duration of the next four months at least for sure, and there - how lucky we are.”

“So you, therefore, sleep now for the future?”, the Queen grinned. “Get up!”

“Come here; lie down with me for a couple of minutes.” He lifted the blanket. “I like waking up next to you.”

“Not a chance! Gideon is alone in the living room, I need to go back to him.”, the Queen retorted.

“Our living room is not the most dangerous place in the world. Besides, he is busy watching cartoons.” Gold patted the sheet next to him. “Lie down.”

“Okay.” the Queen surrendered, taking off her robe. She ducked under the covers, pressed her back against her husband’s warm stomach and threw back her hair, freeing her neck for a kiss. “You do understand that tomorrow this won’t work, right? Tomorrow we both will have to get up at seven, right along with Gideon, to unpack the presents all together, as it’s customary on Christmas.”

“What will you be packed into?” Gold asked, kissing her neck and slowly stroking her thigh.

“Maybe I will give you something else as a present.” She snuggled closer to him.

“Pity.” He slid his hand up and beyond his wife’s thigh and carefully put two fingers inside her. “I was already hoping for a festive packaging.”

“That can be arranged, too.” She rubbed herself against his palm. “What would you like as a package?”

“Well, I don’t know.” He trailed her neck with kisses, from the back of it to her shoulder and then back up again, caressing her with his fingers nonstop. “Something not very bulky that can be easily removed.”

“Is it that simple?” The Queen was surprised. “I thought you would have more sophisticated wishes.”

“I'll think about it again.” He removed his hand, causing Regina to make a disappointed moan. “Maybe without packaging at all, as I like it.” He entered her smoothly and began to move inside her slowly.

“But it won't be interesting.” Regina objected, jerking sharply towards him.

“Tshsh” He held her by the thigh. “Are you in a hurry?”

“Rumple…”, she groaned and arched to meet him.

“There is a time for everything.” He still held her thigh with one hand and placed two fingers on her clit with the other. “And we are in no hurry.” He continued to move just as slowly, making the Queen moan with impatience.

“Someday I will remember this for you.” She shook her hips up and down but then he pinned her to the bed.

“I have no doubt.”, he breathed into her neck.

He had no more strength to talk. He himself could no longer endure. Desire spread in colored circles before his eyes and ringing in his ears. Another minute like that and he broke down, sharply increasing the pace, rushing into her as if he wanted to be entirely inside her.

“Rumple…”, the Queen moaned through the orgasmic haze.

She clenched around him so much that for several seconds he could not move. A moment after that, he himself reached his peak, pouring into her with a groan, almost losing consciousness from the pleasure. For a while they both lay silent and barely moving, trying to even out their breath.

“Well, now you’ll definitely oversleep until noon.” the Queen finally said with mock discontent.

There was a ringing from the living room.

“It looks like Gideon has already begun decorating the Christmas tree.” The Queen jumped out of bed, picking up a robe from the floor. “I'll go join him before it's too late.” She tried to slip out of the bedroom quickly, dressing herself along the way. “Have breakfast and then come to us.”, she winked at her husband at the door.

“Off course.” Gold smiled after her, rising on his elbow and putting a couple more pillows under him.

Sitting on the reclining bed, he took a cup of coffee from the tray. He couldn’t remember a time before when he felt like he does now. This moment. At all. In this house, with this woman, for the first time in his life, he was fine. Without getting any derogations or assumptions thrown at him. Just fine. Every day. Every minute. All the time. After so many years, his wife finally appeared. Who just loved him. Without any conditions. She just wanted to be with him simply because she was good next to him. He bathed in her love. Out of habit, fearing that it might suddenly end. But it did not end. Every day, every hour, she loved him. And it was so strange and so unusual. Amazing.

In addition to coffee, there were fresh crispy croissants on the tray that Regina had managed to bake this morning, a rosette with apricot jam that she had recently made herself and eggs in a basket with perfectly runny yolks, just like his dad had prepared for him as a child. She knew and remembered everything. Having finished breakfast, he got dressed and went down to the living room. Gideon sorted out with interest the balls out of one of the boxes. The Queen, standing on a chair and balancing on one leg, was trying to evenly wrap a Christmas tree with a garland with luminous bulbs. She once again threw a loop of garland stretched out on a string, trying to direct it to the right place of the opposite part of the tree.

“And which one of you is more dangerous to leave alone?” Gold said almost to himself, heading for his wife. “I think you shouldn’t do this.” He went close to the Queen, ready to catch her.

“Why?” She looked at him between outstretched arms. “I always do that: first the light bulbs and then everything else. If you hang the decorations first and then the garlands, the wires will be visible, it will look ugly.”

“I'm not talking about the light bulbs.” Gold said softly. “Get down from there.”

“Oh, there it is.”, the Queen smiled. “And you still can't raise your hands up, did you know?” She asked with a grin.

“Get off.” Gold repeated. “You may fall. Say what needs to be done: I will do it.”

“But you could fall as well.”, Regina shrugged.

“Seriously, Regina, you're making me nervous.” he held out his hand. “I can't, my blood pressure. Get off immediately!”

“A blackmailer.” The Queen laughed, grabbing his hand and climbing down a chair. “Here, do it.” She handed him a garland. “Distribute it somewhat evenly.” While he hung luminous garlands, the Queen, along with her son, sorted out and hung decorations where there were already light bulbs put. The larger balls went closer to the stem. Mixed with red, blue and gold equally. At the very ends of the branches hanged cloth made angels. Then they added some beads and some sparkly tinsel. As soon as they finished the Queen looked at the tree meticulously. “Well, not bad at all.” she concluded. “Do you like it?” She turned to her son.

“Yes!”, the boy answered, looking enthusiastically at the Christmas tree.

“That’s the most important thing.”, the Queen smiled. “Tomorrow Santa will bring you a bunch of presents.” The boy muttered something inaudible. “Everything you want.” the Queen assured him. “Because Santa knows everything about you!” She turned to her husband “Shall we take a walk?”

“Let’s.” Gold agreed. They walked slowly along the alleys of Central Park, looking at the snow-covered trees decorated with festive lights. They visited the Christmas market there, bought several baubles and Christmas sweets. They walked around the ice rink near Rockefeller Center but decided to refrain from skiing, much to the Queen's dismay. On the way home, they stopped at several farm shops and liquor stores.

“Aren’t you tired?” Gold, as usual, took off her boots in the hallway.

“On the contrary,” the Queen smiled, “I just cheered up. Take care of Gideon for now as I get dinner ready.” She picked up the bags and headed for the kitchen. An hour later she appeared with two glasses of Chianti in her hands at the living room, where Gold was playing with their son. “A little more patience, everything will be ready soon.” She handed one of the glasses to Gold. “How are you two doing here?”

“We're having a great time.”, he smiled, hugging his wife. “Although without you, of course, it’s not as marvelous as it could be.”

“Not for long.”, the Queen smiled.

“You definitely don't need any help with dinner?”, her husband asked.

“I do and you are already providing it, entertaining Gideon.” Regina smiled. She drank from her glass, set it on the mantelpiece, and fluttered back into the kitchen.

*** 

“You can set the table now.”, she informed her husband, glancing out from the kitchen. “Dinner's almost ready.”

“Come on.”, he smiled at his son, raising him in his arms. After he removed all the porcelain plates, salad bowls, gravy boats, crystal glasses, exotically painted dishes, forks for pot roast and fish, knives for meat and butter from the shelves, Gold placed them on the table and explained to Gideon what everything was intended for. Soon, all these were filled with roasted poultry, lamb medallions, a variety of salads, sauces, sweet cakes and red dry wine.

“Are you sure the three of us need so much for dinner?” He hugged the Queen as she entered the dining room once again.

“It's Christmas.”, she waved. “A Christmas dinner should have plenty on the table.” All three finally sat down. The Queen mainly fed her son while Gold could hardly choose between the wide variety of dishes. “I will lie him down and return.”, the Queen said after a while, picking up her sleepy baby in her arms. “Come on, the faster you fall asleep, the faster Santa will come.” she informed her son.

“Yes!” Gold nodded after her, pouring another glass of Chianti and adding another portion of veal and salad. Regina was perfect. Regina was the epitome of everything he had ever dreamed of. And he could not believe that was all happening to him in reality. Christmas miracle it was.

“Well, how are you here?” After a while, Regina appeared behind him and leaned on him over his chair, hugging his shoulders.

“Regina.” He pressed his cheek to her hand on his shoulder. “You are incredible. You are everything someone could only dream of.”

“Did this someone drink too much wine?” Regina grinned.

“You are a witch in all the realms.”, he leaned back in his chair.

“That much is clear”, she blushed and kissed his temple. “Come lie down.”

“With you? Together?”, Gold clarified.

“Together.”, Regina reassured him.

*** 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Gold.”, she whispered in his ear at the bedroom while lying next to him and hugging him.

“Merry Christmas, my sorceress.” He reached for her a kiss.

“I love you.” She kissed him long and tenderly.

“And I you.” He settled in her arms, falling asleep.

“I love you more.”, she whispered softly, listening to his steady deep breathing.


	16. Chapter 16

Coming out of the supermarket, Gold looked around, trying to remember where he had left the car. Parking, as always in the evening, was full. When he found the Cadillac, he put the packages in the trunk and as he slammed its door close, he saw the Mayor of Storybrooke right in front of him.

“We need to talk!” Regina Mills looked at him intensely.

“Again?” Gold sighed wearily. “I hope you’re planning to tell me that you, Henry and David have come to terms with the way the American justice system works.”

“You know I won’t.”, the Mayor shook her head.

“What do we need to talk about then?”, Gold asked. “We already seem to have discussed everything.”

“You have to help me.” Mayor Mills said uncertainly, without strain.

“Is that so?” Gold looked at her probingly. “And why should I do that?”

“Because I can also help you and I’ve come to make a deal.”, the Mayor answered quietly.

“This became more interesting.” He walked along the car, opened the passenger’s door, gesturing for Miss Mills to sit down. Going around the Cadillac, he sat in the driver's seat. “I just rumored all over,” he turned to Regina. “To begin with, why are you still here?”

“You know that I can't just leave.” Mills said tensely. “You know your grandson. If I step back now, he will erase me from his life forever.”

“You raised him like that.” Gold shrugged. “Perhaps the time has come to take off the bandage.”

“Stop it.” She looked out the window, turning away from her interlocutor. “You know that I cannot do this.”

“So, are you going to tell me something that I don’t know yet?” Gold asked.

“Help me free Emma, Killian and Belle and you will never see them again, I will make sure of it. File a petition.” She nervously ran her hands over her knees, resting their wrists on them. “I'll take everyone back to Storybrooke. I’ll put a spell on the city line and completely block the city, no connection with the outside world ...”

“And what will you do when Henry will need you to return Belle’s child?” Gold interrupted her.

“I will tell Henry that the city is under your spell.” She drummed her fingers on her knees. “We will search for a long, long time to find a way to undo it and then, perhaps, he will come to terms with it. This is the best option for you too. You yourself understand what is happening now is a time bomb. Even if I do step back, the rest won’t leave you alone as long as these three are here in prison. If you give them to me you will never see anyone else from Storybrooke again. I'll take care of it. We will make a deal. None of them will ever bother you or her.”

“I have already explained to you that this is a public charge, I can do nothing. And I will not ask my friends to get this trinity out of prison. No one will understand, believe me. This will bring me much more problems than all the inhabitants of Storybrooke would put together.” He covered her palm with his. “Regina, he is no longer the baby that you shook a rattle upon so that he would not cry. You have to explain to your son that you cannot fulfill all his desires. He wanted you to rescue Emma and the pirate. You tried. You did everything you could. Nothing came out of it. He needs to come to terms with this and continue loving his mother despite the fact that she is not omnipotent.”

“You know this won't happen.”, she laid her head on his shoulder. “He will never love me simply like that, he is not your Bae.”

“No, he’s not like my Bae at all.”, Gold agreed. “But maybe he will eventually be able to accept you like that, who you are.”

“He is everything I have, he is my whole family, I cannot lose him. Help me! At least pretend that you are trying to help us free Emma, file a petition.”

“It's amazing how different you two are.” Gold looked at her thoughtfully. “How did you get along in one body? I will not help you delay the inevitable. He has to face the truth. This is your chance.”

“No, I'm not ready.”, she recoiled from him.

“You will never be ready.” He put an arm around her shoulders, pressing her slightly against him. “You cannot prepare for this.”

“Then war awaits us.”, she said. However, she did not push him away.

“We are not your enemies, Regina.” He stroked her shoulder. “Perhaps it will surprise you, but I want you to be okay. And now you really have a chance to change everything. Your entire life. Shifting points in life are always painful but sometimes it’s necessary to break what had been glued together wrong before. You won’t be alone. My wife and I have talked a lot about you in the past few days. You can stay here with your son. I will pay for you an apartment, help you with finding work. And Regina and I will be with you, you will have a family, we will help you.”

“What?” Mills recoiled from him again. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, my Regina doesn’t have many relatives and friends.” Gold continued. “She needs someone except me and the children, someone close. A sister that you can become for her. And I honestly worry about you too. I have known both of you for many years, I taught you both, you were the same little child that I shook in my arms once. And I don’t like what is happening to you. You completely lost yourself trying to please your son and his relatives.”

“Me and the Queen?”, Regina laughed. “We will never be sisters.”

“You don’t know her at all, you really don’t know yourself either.” He removed his hand from her shoulder. “I must go home now. If you accept my invitation to dinner, then you can come along with me. You will be alone in Storybrooke. Here you can have a family, a life, a chance to finally establish a normal relationship with your son, a chance to meet someone. Everything can change if you give yourself a chance. Decide and tell me now: yes or no.”

“Yes.” Mills answered, barely audible.


	17. Chapter 17

“Ready?” Having parked near the house at Carnegie Hill, Gold turned to the Mayor of Storybrooke.

“I don't know.”, Mills cringed. “I'm not sure that this could be a good idea at all.”

“I called Regina with you besides me, she said she would be glad to see you, you heard that.”

“And why would she?” She squeezed into the seat. “I wanted to get rid of her, destroy her. I tried to kill her several times. Why would she enjoy my visit?”

“I have already said that you do not know her at all.” he took her hand. “Just give a chance to this untold story. At any time, you can walk beyond the threshold, take a taxi and leave.”

“No, listen, it's all somehow ...” She did not have time to finish.

“Come on!” Gold got out of the car, gesturing for Miss Mills to follow him. The Mayor hesitated for a few more seconds, but then followed suit after him.

“Regina?” Gold called upon entering the house. Miss Mills pressed herself at the hallway corner. All of her self-confidence instantly run away from her and she felt confused in the house of Gold and her other half who she so diligently tried to get rid of. The Queen appeared with a curly haired, brown-eyed boy in her arms.

“Dad!”, the child jumped happily.

“Gideon.” The Queen winced a little, lowering the boy from her arms. “Do not jump off your mother.”

“Don’t carry him in your arms, he walks fine by himself” Removing his coat, Gold squatted down and opened his arms for the baby. “Come here!” The boy ran to his father. “Hello!” He hugged his son. “Did you miss me? Come with me, help me with dinner. What did you cook with your mom? Let's go finish it all up.” He quickly kissed his son and stood up, grabbing the bags with one hand and handing the other to the boy.

“What about me?” The Queen hugged him from the shoulders.

“You too.”, he smiled, kissing his wife. Miss Mills was still standing in the corner, clinging to the wall.

“Well, it looks like we have to go through this alone, right?” The Queen stepped towards her after Gold disappeared behind the kitchen door.

“Sounds like it.” She finally peeled herself off the wall. “Listen, I think I better leave.”

“No.” The Queen took another step and took her hand. “Don’t leave. Our relationship cannot be simple but, you must admit, we have no one closer to us than each other. We need to sort things out somehow. Didn't you ever think about it? Didn't you ever want it after we split up? Never? I know you wanted to get rid of me. Forever forget about me. And I wanted the same. I will not lie. When we left Storybrooke, I wanted to permanently erase you from my life. But you know, a year later I’m not so sure of that anymore. Time passes and everything change, insults are forgotten. You and I are one. We have a son. We cannot just forget about each other. And now that you have reappeared in my life, I want to help you.”

“Help me?” She sarcastically arched an eyebrow.

“Don’t get up in arms.” The Queen raised her hands in a conciliatory manner. “Both I and Gold — we both want only what’s good for you. You are dear to both of us. Just give us a chance.”

Regina Mills was silent.

“Come.” the Queen extended her hand again. “I will hang your coat and then we will drink a little and continue this conversation.”

The Mayor hesitantly stepped towards her half.

“That's good.” the Queen took the coat from the Mayor, which she still took off uncertainly, and hung it in a closet. “Follow me.” They both went into the living room. The Queen, without asking, poured whiskey for the Mayor. For herself, a little red wine.

“I feel very stupid.” The Mayor gulped down the contents of the glass.

“You’re not alone.” The Queen took a sip from her own.

“Is Gold really making dinner?” The Mayor nodded toward the kitchen.

“What surprises you so much?” The Queen shrugged. “Do you really believe the person who raised a child alone in the Enchanted Forest is not able to handle the stove?”

“No…”, the Mayor shook her head, “It's just ... okay ... it doesn't matter ...”

“Don't worry, he cooks well.”, the Queen smiled.

“I have no doubt.” She handed the Queen her glass.

For a while, both were silent.

“This is all so unexpected.”, the Mayor finally spoke. “You and Gold, you being together. Do you really love him?”

“Always.”, the Queen replied. “I always loved only him.”

“But what about Daniel? Robin?”

“No, that was all you.”

“I didn’t know…” The Mayor sipped a little from her glass.

“You don't know yourself very well at all. It doesn’t matter.” The Queen sat next to her. “It’s not about that now. Has Rumple already told you that we want you to stay here with us? To make you part of our family?” The Mayor nodded. “And I will repeat it to you.” She took another sip of wine. “You will be fine here. And Henry needs a firm hand that you cannot be: you love him too much. Both of you need a family. And we are ready to become just that.”

“Why do you need it?” The Mayor carefully looked at the Queen.

“No reason.”, she shrugged. “Consider this an irrational desire. You know ... we will always be connected with one another. Even though Rumple was able to completely separate us. We are flesh from each other’s flesh and blood from each other’s blood. We are like twin sisters. We’ve spent so many years together. And Henry ... I raised him with you and I do care about him.”

“And you will be that firm hand for him?”, the Mayor asked.

“No, not me.”, the Queen shook her head. “Rumple. He is also worried about him. Although they were not close, Henry is his grandson. He is Bae's son. You understand what that means to him. But there is a huge gap between them. Give him a chance. Help him take the first steps. It will be useful for everyone. Henry never had a father but he may have a grandfather. He is at the most difficult age now; you cannot cope with him alone.”

“Yes, because we all know how tough of a father he is.” Regina grinned. “Are there any doubts that he will be the same “tough” grandfather?”

“He can handle it.”, the Queen nodded. “He will be able to raise our son with you better than anyone else.”

“It didn’t work out with Bae.” The Mayor sipped again from her glass.

“Do not add salt to his wound.” The Queen got up from the sofa. “I warn you for the first and last time. Excuse me; I’ll have to leave for a minute, find out what's the hold up with dinner.” She slipped out of the living room.

***

In the kitchen, she pressed herself against Gold, who was standing by the stove. “Haven’t you left us alone for too long?” She laid her head on his shoulder.

“Well, she's your half.”, he kissed her temple. “I thought you'd want to be alone with her.”

“I have already been.” She looked into the pan. “And this sauce will burn soon. By the way, what is it for?”

“You will see.” He stroked her hair. “Another five minutes, you can do the serving for now, you will both have something to do. Yes?” He winked at his son sitting on the kitchen table.

“Yes!” the boy answered eagerly.

“And take Gideon with you, he will entertain you both.”

“Five minutes!” The Queen jabbed a finger at him. “I'm starting to count.”

Soon they all sat down at the table.

“I don’t understand, where’s my lasagna?” The Queen asked, leaning on her arm.

“In the fridge.” Gold said, meticulously slicing a salmon steak in her plate.

“You were supposed to put it in the oven.” The Queen looked sadly at the asparagus with the cream sauce that accompanied the salmon.

“Yes? I didn’t know.” He glanced quickly at his wife. “You need to eat more fish, your child needs omega-acids and they won’t hurt us either.”

“That was the last time I let you into the kitchen.” The Queen sighed.

“Oh, really?” Gold laughed. “Will you eat it by yourself or not?” He put a piece of fish on the fork.

“Give me the fork.”. the Queen smiled.

“So have you reconciled with your fate?”, Gold asked.

“Oh, really?” she mimicked her husband. “Is there any way not to “reconcile with my fate” dealing with you? Tyrant and despot.”

“That's it.” Gold agreed, pouring himself whiskey. “Do you want a pour?” He turned to Mayor Mills.

“Of course.” She handed him her glass.

“Good decision.” He poured her half a glass. “I hope it’s not the last one for this evening.”

“The evening promises to be interesting.”, the Mayor muttered, drinking her whiskey in one gulp.

“So what did you decide on the matter in question?”, Gold inquired.

“I don't know.” She handed him her glass again and he poured her another. “All this is somehow strange. And unexpected. I’m trying to say ... I had a great plan. And it still is. I don’t understand why it doesn’t suit you, why you are being so stubborn. The plan is perfect. I'm taking everyone back to Storybrooke and they all become my problem. And you live in peace. And I live calmly, my usual life. Why is this bad?”

“Because of everything!” Gold poured himself one too. “We both already told you that we care about you. We don’t want this to be your problem. We don’t want you to continue dancing around Henry. And Henry is my grandson. It is time to educate him. I’m not trying to say that you’ve been a bad mother. You are a wonderful mother. You gave this child everything a mother can give. But now he needs a father. Which he never had. Bae was not by his side. You raised him alone. At least Regina used to be with you, but now you are all alone. And he is 16 years old. You can't handle him all by yourself. You need help.”

“I suppose.” Regina nodded. “I say it is “acceptable”, because in reality it all sounds crazy. But, let's say I agree and retreat; I will not get involved in a war with you. And we even curb Henry. There is also David. You offer him to take a step back and reconcile? Resigning to the fact that his daughter will spend half her life in prison and his wife will be sleeping dead?”

“Now, it's not about him at all.” Gold grimaced.

“How vain!” Miss Mills snapped. “Because he is your real problem. He is the sheriff of Storybrooke. And he can do no less than me.”

“I don't give a damn about him.” He filled both their glasses again. “Let him do whatever he wants.”

“But Emma is my friend, I'm worried about her.” Mills did not back down. “And Belle ...”

“Don’t you utter this name in my house.” Gold said very quietly but goosebumps ran down her spine from his tone.

“I won’t.”, said the Mayor conciliatorily. “But the fact remains: my plan solves all your problems; yours only adds more to you.”

“We don’t need you to solve our problems, we can solve them ourselves.” Gold assured her. “We need you and Henry to live a normal life. That’s all we need from you.”

“But how can we all heal normally in this situation?” Regina continued. “Aren't these three too severely punished? I’m not speaking from the point of view of the American justice system, but ... well ...”

“Unwritten rules.” Gold suggested.

“Something like that.” the Mayor agreed. “They were just trying to get the baby back to his mother.”

“His mother is sitting next to you.”, Gold nodded at his wife. “And if you are talking about the woman who gave birth and abandoned him, she is not his mother. And no, I don’t think they received too severe a punishment. They have taken advantage of other people in the name of “heroism” so many times that it was time for them to get a good lesson. You raised your son for ten years and then Miss Swan appeared. The one who left him, who abandoned him. And look what happened. And you call her your friend now? You are ready to fight for her? You're scaring me. Or do you think that Hook got too severe a punishment? Who ruined my family, who took Baelfire’s mother away from him? Who repeatedly tried to kill me and my second wife? The one who became a Dark One and almost strangled you? Do you want to stand up for him? No, dearie. I won’t move a finger to get this lot out. Forget it. As for David, you can console him: I will remove the curse from him and Snow White. So they can wait for Emma to come back and work on raising baby Neal together.”

“You're arrogant.” the Queen looked at her husband. “I like it.”

“You are a first-class witch darling”, he leaned toward his wife and quickly kissed her on the shoulder, “but it’s me who taught you everything.”

“And why do you think that I will let you go to Storybrooke to wake Snow White up?”

“You will go?” The Mayor asked in surprise, pouring herself more whiskey.

“Think of it as a goodwill gesture. And you know, if I were you, I would already start having a bite.” He nodded at her untouched plate. “We, of course, will let you sleep here but if you plan to sleep in a bed and not hugging the toilet, then it’s time to start eating something.”

“No, what are you saying, I can’t stay here. I need to go back to the hotel. Henry will be worried. By the way, where is my phone?” She ran her hands in her pockets. “I left it in the coat.”, she concluded. “Henry must have called.” She got up and headed for the hallway.

The Golds looked at each other in silence.

“Well”, the Queen sighed, “she is such an optimist.”

“Not the worst quality.” Gold shrugged. “Eat more fish.” He cut off a portion of Miss Mills’ fillet and put it on the Queen’s plate. 

“Let her eat it!”

“She won't.”

Regina Mills returned with her phone in her hands. “Strange.” She raised her arm and moved it from side to side. “Perhaps there is a bad connection?”

“What, no missed calls?” The Queen asked.

“Not a single one.” She once again held out her arm in the air.

“Call him yourself; tell him not to expect you tonight.” Gold motioned for her to come back to the table.

“No, I can't.” She sat in her seat. “What will I tell him? That I’m sleeping on your couch tonight?”

“Why on the couch?” the Queen was surprised. “There are enough bedrooms in this house, we will give you one. Furthermore, Rumple usually sleeps on our couch. Isn’t that right, darling?”

“Oh, how vindictive you are.” Gold grimaced. “It was just a couple of times I fell asleep. For how long are you going to remember that?”

“For long.” the Queen said. “You know how lonely, sad and cold it felt for me all these “a couple of times.” Look at that, Gideon takes after you.” She nodded with a grin at the baby sleeping peacefully in the highchair.

“He is my son after all.” Gold carefully took his son in his arms. “Hmmm, hush.”, he shook the tumbling child slightly. “Come on, I'll put you in the crib.”

“I really can’t stay.” the Mayor addressed the Queen. “All this is somewhat too much.”

“Oh, stop it.” she took her hand again. “Stay at least a little at home with your family. And don’t call anyone. Let him worry. It will do him good.”

Regina Mills was silent. She really didn't want to leave. Here, near the fireplace, behind the cream curtains, with these people, she, for the first time in a long time, felt at home. She was well and calm with them. A long-forgotten sensation. “You know, I want to stay.” she said softly.

“Good.” The Queen put her arm around her shoulders.

“What did I miss?” Gold returned to the living room.

“She’s staying.”, the Queen smiled.

***

Regina Mills lay awake in her bed for a while. Everything that had happened seemed like a dream. Everything around her was perfect. Even the smell of the bedding was perfect. And yet it was a strange house; one she fell in love with from the very first minute and did not want to leave from. The love of its owners warmed it. Next to them everything was good, quiet, warm and calm. Their love for each other covered everything around.

Regina got up, walked around the room and went out into the corridor. For a while she wandered aimlessly around the house until she heard quiet voices from the master bedroom. After hesitating a little, she came closer to the door, attracted by the thought that they were talking about her. The Golds though, contrary to her assumptions, were completely busy with their affairs.

“Can they do it?” The Queen's voice came through.

“We'll see.” Gold answered. “Everything will be decided tomorrow ... A little higher, yeah, there ...”

“And how do they substantiate their demands? .. The knee too?”

“Yeah ... No, not so much ... They justify that it is a historical attraction.”

“Like every building here ... Is this good?”

“Yes ... I don’t think that they will succeed ...”

“And what will they do with this building if they get it?”

“The same as me – hand it over at the same corporation.”

“So you won’t go to Stern again tomorrow?”

“Nope ... Now is not the time for it ...”

“You know I don’t like it.”

“Me either. But I like the building on Fifth Avenue. I'm not going to give it to the municipality ...”

Regina walked away from the door. She reached the window at the end of the corridor and sat on the windowsill. It was snowing outside. Large flakes flew to the ground under the light of an orange lantern. Pulling her legs to her chest, she laid her head on her knees. She was home.


	18. Chapter 18

Waking up in the morning, Regina Mills did not understand immediately where she was. The events of the past evening seemed so far-fetched that in the morning she couldn’t completely fathom them. And the whiskey she drunk over the whole evening and night after she walked around the house, played a role. She slowly sat on the bed. Looking at herself, she noticed wearing cream-colored silk pajamas. The room, decorated in light beige and white colors, was bathed in sunshine, generously pouring into it through light organza curtains. Having lowered her legs to the floor, the woman was on a fluffy white carpet with a thick silky pile. A little further from her, on a mirror table, stood a vase with white and yellow tulips.

Sliding out of bed, Regina went to the window, behind which the snow-covered Central Park was spreading as far as the eye could see. She opened the window and fresh frosty air poured into the room, mixed with the smell of coffee beans and gasoline from the street under the window. After sitting still there for a while, she walked away, found a robe in the closet and went down to the kitchen, where the Queen was already preparing breakfast.

“How did you sleep?” The mistress of the house looked at her over her shoulder.

“I think well.” Regina sat at the table, next to Gideon, who was already eating porridge.

“You think?”, she asked.

“After having all that whiskey yesterday, I’m not sure of anything.”, the Mayor smiled. “Even if I'm really here.”

“You are really here.”, the Queen smiled, pouring her coffee. “And that's good.”

“You have a beautiful house.” Regina said after a pause.

“Thank you.” She turned several pancakes in the pan. “But it’s not only my merit. Much remain here from the previous owners as it did to them from even older ones. This house is one hundred years old.”

“It’s quite modern for a centenary.” The Mayor sipped coffee from a cup. “I saw the pool in the basement.”

“This is the Golds’ purchase, before us it didn’t exist.”

“Trully?” Miss Mills was surprised. “And you were allowed to carry out such a massive redevelopment in this house? This is probably some kind of historical monument.”

“Are you sure you know Rumple?”, the Queen laughed.

“Well, I'm not so sure anymore.” Regina drank some more coffee. “I didn’t know he was such a sports fan to build a pool here.”

“Not him.” the Queen gently stirred the apples with sugar and cinnamon in the second pan. “His orthopedist.”

“Orthopedist?”, Mills asked.

“Well, you are aware of his problems with his leg.” She put a couple of pancakes on her sister’s plate, pouring apple caramel sauce on top of them.

“I thought Dark Hook had healed him.” Regina said in surprise.

“So it was.” the Queen nodded. “But it turned out it doesn’t work outside Storybrooke. And he would have walked with a cane and constant leg pains if we hadn’t found Dr. Stern who reconstructed his ankle entirely. A few more months of rehabilitation and his leg will be like new.”

“Well, you clearly are adapting well to a world without magic.” the Mayor muttered. “Who would have thought.”

“It's not always easy,.” the Queen sighed. “We both love magic and suffer from its absence. But this world has its advantages. Here, I will be able to have my own child any day now. Could I have dreamt of such a thing in our world? There was no magic to fix what you and I did back then. And you know, it turned out that life in New York is much more interesting than in Storybrooke. The islands in the Caribbean are more picturesque than the Enchanted Forest. And the magic of money works great in every realm. So it’s not so bad. Oh, by the way, about the islands: perhaps you and Henry should start from there. We have a house on Saint Bartholomew, first row on the beach. Fly there for a couple of weeks and live together, away from everything. It really clears the mind. Only you and the ocean just a hundred meters away. We also have a yacht. If you sail away from the shore at night ... it’s like being all alone in the universe. There are only stars around you. The jellyfish are glowing in the depths of the sea, it’s full of them. You swim and they spread out in wide stripes around the yacht. It’s beautiful. Mesmerizing.”

“Well, how can I persuade him to do such a thing?” Miss Mills grinned. “You understand yourself that he will not go anywhere now. When those three are in jail and Gideon is with you. He needs justice as he sees it.”

“I don't know.” the Queen shrugged. “Think about it, I just suggested it as an option. Oh and coming back to our house which you kind of liked: you can live here for a while. While you look for an apartment. If you want to.”

“The matter is not what I want.” Regina sighed. “Hey, let me feed him.” she nodded at Gideon. “He is already a mess.”

“And then how will he learn to eat by himself?”, the Queen smiled.

“Well, you and I fed Henry.” Regina answered.

“Yes”, the Queen agreed, “and we fed him with a spoon for up to three years and we dressed him fully until five because it was faster. I don’t know about you but I don’t agree with this anymore. Anyway, with Henry we didn’t really succeed. But what can we do, the first child is always training. With the second, you already roughly understand how to do it.”

“And what will we do with training Henry?” Regina asked. “Do you also roughly understand how to do this with him?”

“No.” the Queen shook her head. “I still don’t know what to do with Henry. Gold wants to send him to England, to a good private school, at least for a year. This is probably the way to go.”

“Seriously?” Regina snapped. “To just get rid of him.”

“No, what does that have to do with it?” The Queen frowned. “Only to give him some idea about another kind of life, about discipline. In any case, this is simply one of the suggestions. If you have any better ideas, we are ready to listen. We will solve everything together in some way.”

“Perhaps this isn’t such a bad idea.” the Mayor suddenly agreed. “We were not always so successful with discipline.”

“Who is good with it?” She took a silver tray from the shelf above the stove, put a pure white plate on it with pancakes and apples, a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice. “I'll be back soon.”

“Really now?” Regina asked ironically.

“What “really now”?” the Queen asked bewildered.

“No, nothing.” She returned to her plate.

“Oh please, just don’t.” The Queen straightened her hair before picking up the tray in her hands.

“I'm silent.” Regina nodded.

After some time, the Queen flushed returned to the kitchen.

“I'm still silent.” Regina caught her slightly embarrassed look.

“Good.” the Queen smiled. “Where did we leave things off?”

“Housing and discipline.” Regina answered. “But there is another question: what will I do here? I used to be a Queen and up until now I’ve been a Mayor. Not a very diverse work experience.”

“Well, next year, one of Gold’s friends is going to take over the post of Mayor of New York, who would be so… kind as to single out our family for one good position in the city hall.”

“And you won’t take this good position, because…?, the Mayor asked.

“I'm not interested.”, the Queen replied.

“Really?” Miss Mills raised her eyebrows in surprise. “The Evil Queen does not want to rule this city?”

“The Evil Queen perhaps would like to.” She finally sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. “But Mrs. Gold, no. I don’t want to rule anything. I simply want to go out with my children and cook my husband breakfast.”

“Unbelievable!” Regina gasped in amazement. “Which of us needs to be saved here again? Is your happy end a man? Really? What happened to you? Where are your ambitions?”

“Oh, please!” the Queen grinned. “I have ruled our kingdom for ten years and Storybrooke another thirty. In addition, I am one of the most powerful witches in all magical worlds. My ambitions are fully satisfied. I know who I am and I know what I am capable of. But I also know that I like being Gold’s wife, this is what makes me happy. And since I am a free person, I can live the way I like, without proving anything to anyone or even explaining it.”

“Still, unbelievable…” The Mayor took the Queen's hand. “Do you really love him so much?”

“So much.” she smiled. “And I am certainly not interested in ruling New York City. If I wanted to rule, I would return to our castle. In this world, I need nothing but Gold. So, if you decide to stay, the position in the city hall is yours. And it's a little more glamorous than being Mayor of the provincial Storybrooke.”

“What is Gold doing here?” Regina asked.

“The same as Storybrooke.”, the Queen replied. “He owns a lot of real estate here on the East Side, which he is renting out favorably. Although not without problems. Since these are all historical monuments, the city authorities periodically try to chop off something from us, that's how it is now. But in general, everything is fine with us.”

“Good morning!” Gold peered into the kitchen. “I'm leaving.” he nodded to his wife.

“Already? So early?” The Queen got up from the table and went to him. ”What time is your hearing?”

“At three o’clock.” Gold answered. “But I need to meet with Trenton before that.”

“So, you won’t even go to the pool?” the Queen specified. “Don’t complain to me in the evening that your leg hurts.”

“I won’t be complaining.” Gold quickly kissed her cheek. “Come, show me out and I’m leaving.”

Regina Mills, sitting in the kitchen, watched in one of the mirrors at the hall as the Queen slowly untied Gold's tie and just as leisurely tied it back again, with a more elegant knot, clinging to her husband. She brushed the dust particles that were invisible from afar on his coat. She kissed him for a long, long time. And after that she stood at the door for quite some time. Then she returned inside.

“I have to go, too.” said Mayor Mills reluctantly. “Do you have Uber here?”

“I'll take you.”, the Queen dismissed her.

“There’s no use, I'll get a taxi.” The Mayor gathered the dishes from the table.

“Either way, I need to get Gideon to have a vaccination now.” The Queen stood at the sink. “Gimme, I'll wash them.”

“Don’t you have a dishwasher?” Regina was surprised.

“No, I’m against such innovations.” the Queen smiled. “I believe that dishes should be washed manually under running water.”

“How have you endured our dishwasher for so many years?” The Mayor grinned.

“With difficulty.” the Queen replied seriously. “You can tackle Gideon for now.” she nodded at the child, stained with oatmeal. “The nursery is on the second floor, the third door to the right of the stairs. Change him into something clean, okay?”

“Mama!” The boy reached for the Queen when Regina took him in her arms.

“Aunt Regina will dress you up and bring you to me.” The Queen smiled at him. “And then you and I will go to the doctor,all right?”

“He looks like Henry.” The Mayor examined the child in her arms.

“Well, Henry is his nephew.” The Queen replied, already immersed in washing dishes. “No wonder they look alike.”

“Come, let’s wash you and dress you.” Regina smiled at Gideon.

“Mama!” the boy protested.

“After that you will go with your mother wherever you need.” Regina said conciliatorily, leaving the kitchen.

***

The Queen's Mercedes stopped near the hotel. “I hope you will be back soon.” The Queen reached out and kissed Regina on the cheek.

“I hope so as well.” Regina quickly hugged her and got out of the car.

“Did you and Gold kiss the same way too?” She heard a displeased voice when the Mercedes was out of sight.

“Henry!” The Mayor turned to her son who was standing behind her. “We need to talk.”

“There is nothing to talk about!” The young man spat out angrily, turned sharply and quickly walked away from his mother.

“Henry!” Miss Mills rushed after him.


	19. Chapter 19

“Very on time” said the Queen while rubbing a piece of meat with spices and squinted at the ringing telephone. “And very interesting.” she added, reading the name on the screen. After she hastily wiped her hands, she answered the call.

“Regina, he's gone!” Her half said eagerly. “Henry. He saw you and me this morning. He ran away from me and went at the room he shared with David. I was talking to him through the door for almost an hour and then when David returned - he walked in with Neal - it turned out that he wasn’t inside! He had escaped. We searched the entire hotel, I went to all the places he could be at, but he is nowhere to be found. He is gone.”

“Well, there we go.”, the Queen sighed. “Have you reported it to the police yet?”

“Off course!” Regina exclaimed. “But what do they care? They believe the young man will be back by evening time. But we know that this isn’t so! We don’t know what he’s up to but we can expect anything from him!”

“Okay, don't panic, I'm calling Gold. Do not hang up, I’ll connect you both through a conference call if I remember how to do this on this phone ... Yeah, now ... Now ...”

“Yes, darling?” Gold’s warm voice came through.

“Hi…” The Queen's voice subtly changed. “Regina called me just now and we have problems.”

“Already?”, said a surprised Gold. “So fast?”

“Henry saw us together this morning and he ran away.”, the Queen said. “Regina will tell you everything in detail now.”

Miss Mills repeated the whole story.

“Really?”, Gold asked. “He wasn’t even staying at the same room with you?”

“Yes”, the Mayor said irritably, “you grasped the very essence of the problem!”

“I got the point, don’t worry.”, Gold answered. “Come back to us and do something useful there. Take a walk with Gideon, for example. He has become very active lately; it’s hard for Regina to chase after him all over the playground for two hours in a row.”

“Really?”, the Queen was surprised.

“Oh, are you still here? Sorry.”, Gold grinned. “Generally, find yourself some useful activities to do for now. By evening, I will have brought you your Henry back. Yes, Miss Mills, send me his picture. You probably have a lot of them on the phone.”

“Yes, there are some there.”, the Mayor answered.

“Well then! Send one right away.” He disconnected.

“Is everything okay?” Trenton looked up at him as he continued laying out papers in the files.

“We'll see.” Gold shrugged. “Call your captain from the nineteenth station, I need to find someone. Oh, and here he is.” He opened the photograph he received.

“Who’s this guy?” Trenton peered at the screen.

“The son of a relative of mine.” Gold sent the photograph to Trenton. “He had a fight with his mother and run away from home.”

“The teenage crisis.” Trenton nodded. “And what should they do with him when they find him?”

“Let them keep him at the station.”, Gold shrugged. “I'll go get him as soon as I’m free.”

“And his mom?”, Trenton inquired.

“And his mom will get him back only from my hands.”, Gold answered. “I need to talk to him before he goes back to her.”

“I get it.”, Trenton nodded. “Everything will be in order.” 

***

“Hi.” Regina Mills stood on the threshold of the Golds house again after a short while.

“Come in.” The Queen motioned for her to enter.

“And here we are again in an awkward situation, right?” The Mayor entered at the hallway.

“Oh, stop it.” The Queen took her coat. “We have already discussed that you are welcome here, despite Henry's antics.”

“Do you think he will find him?” The Mayor asked tensely.

“I have no doubt.”, the Queen assured her. “If Gold said he would bring him here by evening, then he will bring him here by evening.”

“You really believe in him.”, the Mayor said.

“Yes.” The Queen smiled. “Exactly.”

“It seems to me that something is burning up.” the Mayor sniffed.

“It is!” The Queen hurried to the kitchen.

After taking off her shoes, Regina followed her.

“Do you want me to make some dinner?” she suggested to the Queen who was already scraping garlic and finely chopped tomatoes from the pan.

“No, there’s no use.”, her sister dismissed her. “You don't know what he loves and how. Don’t.”

“You know, it's quite difficult”, Regina sat down at the table, “not to constantly return to talking about your relationship.”

“Well, if you want, let's go into it.”, the Queen smiled.

“Perhaps not.”, the Mayor looked around. “But I can't just sit here, I need to do something.”

“You really can take Gideon for a walk.” she nodded at her son. “Besides, he was already getting bored with me here. And it will also be good for you: you will break free, breathe some fresh air.”

“Really?”, the Mayor was amazed. “Do you trust me that much? I can leave with him and never return.”

“Stop it. We both know you won’t do this.”, the Queen replied. “Let's be honest, you could have left with him last night. Nobody tied you to the bed. And yet he is still here. Like you.” She laid a hand on her shoulder. “So yes, I do trust you that much. But if you are too lazy, just say so, I will take him for a walk myself.”

“I'm not lazy.” Regina gently patted the boy’s hair who was sitting next to her. “Will you come with me for a walk?”

“Yes!” The child was enthused.

“Very well.”, the Queen nodded. “The nursery is on the second floor, you remember. The park is across the street. Don't show up for the next couple of hours!”

“Agreed.” Regina held out her hand for the baby boy. “Let's go?”

***

Sitting on a park bench, squinting from the bright winter sun, she watched with pleasure as the baby was rolling a ball out of snow when a woman sat down next to her.

“Regina, hello!”, she smiled. “You can be congratulated?!” She nodded at Miss Mills’ belly. “Girl, as promised? Hello!” She waved to Gideon.

“What?”, the Mayor was confused. “No ... I ... I'm not her...”

“What do you mean?” Now her conversationalist was also taken aback.

“I ...” she hesitated. “I'm her sister.”

“I didn’t know Regina had a sister.” The blonde was surprised.

“Yes, we ourselves do not ...” Miss Mills fell silent. “I mean to say, we did not communicate for a long time.”

“In any case, nice to meet you.” The woman moved closer. “I'm Jessica.”, she introduced herself.

“Regina.” the Mayor nodded.

“As in?” the woman asked. “Are you both Reginas?”

“Well ... yes ...”, she answered uncertainly.

“Your parents don’t have a great imagination...” Jessica said confused. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to say that at all!”, she then realized.

“No, don’t worry ... Generally ... It’s like that ...”

“Well, you certainly won’t mix it up.” The woman smiled. “Regina and Regina - very convenient.”

“Perhaps.”, the Mayor agreed.

“Is Regina all right?”, the blonde inquired. “Usually she takes the child for a walk herself.”

“She's busy with dinner.” Miss Mills smiled.

“Well. Well, I stopped practically for a just second.” The woman stood up and extended her hand. “I already have to go, say hello to ... Regina.”

“Wait.” The Mayor followed her. “How long have you known them for?”

“Who? The Golds?”, Jessica asked. “Almost a year. Ever since they moved here.”

“And what do you think of them?”

“Oh, I get it.” she smiled. “Don’t worry, he is a good husband. And he loves your sister.”

“You think so?”

“I see it.” She gently took her hand away from the Mayor's. “I really have to go, all the best.”

“To you too ...” Miss Mills sat down on the bench again.

***

“Where is he?” Gold entered the police station on 19th Street at exactly seven o’clock in the evening.

“In the interrogation room.”, answered the detective who met him. “I will accompany you.”

“Do me a favor.” Gold nodded wearily.

They walked through several corridors until the detective finally unlocked one of the doors.

“Please.”, he made a pass with his hand.

“Thank you.” Gold entered the room. “What were you thinking?” He turned to Henry who was sitting at the table, closing the door behind him.

“Who would doubt this was your doing.” Henry answered sharply. “You have to put everyone to jail, right?”

“Well, you are not in prison yet.” Gold shrugged. “Although this can be arranged. What were you thinking running away from your mother? She's insanely worried. She has practically been knocked down trying to find you. Why are you doing this to her?”

“My mother is in prison! Because of you!” Henry spat out with meanness.

“Oh really?” Gold said in surprise. “What about the woman who raised you all these years? Is she not your mother anymore? Oh wait, it’s the Evil Queen, who took away the happy endings from everyone. Or maybe not. The Evil Queen has long been living separately from her. And this is just Miss Mills. From which you saw nothing but love. And that brings us back to the question, why are you doing this to her?”

“She betrayed me! She betrayed us all! I saw her today with the Queen!” The teenage boy jumped to his feet. “She made her choice.”

“Sit down.” Gold abruptly set him back on a chair, squeezing his shoulder with force. “And calm down.”

“Hands off!”, Henry blurted out. “Or what, are you going to beat me?”

“Hardly.” Gold answered calmly. “Although that is also possible. Considering that your mother is now crying on the shoulder of my pregnant wife and is making her nervous, think for yourself how my patience has been more than enough. So what did you plan to do after running away? Besides bringing your mother close to hysteria.”

“To find someone who can free Emma with magic.” Henry answered.

“And who is that?”, Gold asked.

“The Dragon.” Henry smiled. “I will find a way to free him from the looking glass into which the Evil Queen has imprisoned him.”

“You know, you're treating magic too loosely.” He sat across from Henry. “And that already had been bothering me. First you decided to destroy magic at the very moment I was trying to bring Belle back from that damn world of untold stories. Now you have decided to let magic roam free into this world. You don’t know how it will end but you don’t give a damn, right? The main thing is that all your wishes are fulfilled.”

“My wishes are simple.”, he leaned towards Gold. “I want my mother to be free! My real mother.”

“Your real mother is Regina. She raised you, she has loved you all this time and she still loves you. Even though you bring her a lot of suffering. So now you will come with me, apologize to her and will no longer upset her.”

“ME? With you? To Regina and the Evil Queen?” Henry grinned. “No, I'd rather stay in prison!”

“You know, I, too, have no burning desire to deal with you.” He rubbed his temples. “But you are Bae’s son. And Regina’s. Both Reginas’. Which makes the situation pretty hopeless. Believe me; I can turn your life into hell in many ways. And only your good will can stop me. All that I need from you is that you love your mother and not to upset her. It's not that hard, is it?”

“My mother is in prison!”, Henry repeated.

“Here we go again.” Gold sighed. “She will be released in due time. You see, the fact that you and Miss Swan do not like how our breakup with Belle ended up, is no excuse for kidnapping. At least here. In addition, Miss Mills is no less your mother than Miss Swan, but even much more. She is your family. And she doesn't deserve what you’re doing to her.”

“Why are you so worried about her?” Henry asked ironically. “Do you really care?”

“Regina is my friend.”, Gold answered. “I know her much longer than you have lived in the world. I know how much she went through and I want her to be happy. Not to mention the fact that I want my wife to be happy, who loves Regina as a sister. She is part of our family and I will take care of her, believe me. The question is how painful it will be for you. I can and will knock all the nonsense out of you, figuratively speaking.”

“I see. Not only my wishes must come true for sure, right?” Henry squinted.

“Mine will come true.” Gold assured him. “Generally, the plan is this: you are going to the hotel with me now, pack your things and then you are coming to us, apologize to your mother and have dinner with her. After that, your mother will go with you to the airport and tonight you’ll fly off to Cardiff school, accompanied by one of the school’s appointed escort. There you will have a whole semester to reflect on life, think about yourself, about family. And additionally do some of those less important things, like improve your mathematics, physics and other courses and disciplines you have such problems with at our beautiful Storybrooke school. Regina at this time will be able to rest, settle down, recover a little and live a quiet life. And in the summer you will come to mom for a vacation. Something like that.”

“Do you really think that I will agree to this?” Henry grinned.

“Of course you will.” Gold sighed. “Because, in this case, I will indeed remove the curse from Snow White and Prince Charming. Otherwise ... Believe me, you don’t want to know how I will achieve my goal if you continue to resist.”

***

“Henry!” Miss Mills hugged her son tightly, as soon as he and Gold entered the hallway. “I'm so glad to see you! Lord, I was so worried.”

“I think it’s best you stay alone.” The Queen whispered to her quietly, glancing at her husband. “Dinner in the kitchen.”

“Come on.” Regina dragged her son along without question.

“A subtle move.” Gold smiled, kissing his wife.

“Well, it is what it is.” she took off his coat. “Go, take a break from talking with your beloved grandson.”

He went into the living room and crashed into a chair by the fireplace.

“Where did you find him?” The Queen, bending over towards her husband, gently stretched his shoulders.

“At the police station, where he was taken at my request.” He slightly moved her hand.

“As I would guess.” Regina smiled. “And what was he planning to do this time?”

“Well, try to guess again.” He stretched, flexing his neck.

“No idea.” Regina answered after thinking.

“Find the Dragon and turn New York into New Storybrooke.” He threw his head back, resting it on the back of his chair.

“As always excessive.” The Queen gently rubbed his temples. “I will not ask how you managed for him to agree with you. How’s court going?”

“The court is going very well.” Gold said. “Marble, mahogany, large windows — nice to visit.”

“Oh, okay then. It’s strange that Henry is still alive.” the Queen grinned.

“Really?” Gold was surprised. “Is that your opinion about me? Nevermind. I will appeal this decision. Forget about it.”

“How is your leg?” She lightly kissed his temple.

“Well, you told me not to complain to you”, he stroked her shoulder, “so I have nothing to tell you about my leg.”

She sat on the floor next to him and gently massaged his ankle.

“There?”, she said.

“There.” He closed his eyes.

“Do you want me to bring you anything?” She asked after a while.

“Yourself.” Gold said, pulling her up and sitting her on his lap.

“Oh, come on, Henry and Regina are in the next room!” The Queen was indignant.

“They are busy.” He ran a hand under her dress and slipped two fingers inside her.

“Rumple”, the Queen breathed.

“And you are glad to see me.” he concluded, unfastening his trouser.

***

“Do you think everything will work out?” The Queen laid her head on her husband’s shoulder, watching her half and Henry getting into a taxi.

“We'll see.” he hugged her. “For now, do not think about it. We will have almost half a year of a quiet life. And after that we will solve any problems with Henry as they present themselves.”

“If he doesn’t run away from there too.”, the Queen sighed.

“He will not run away.” Gold assured her. “I pay to this wonderful boarding school forty thousand pounds a year not in the least for the child to wander around into the unknown. They are aware, I believe. And, given their strict orders, by the end of the semester he will truly love his mother and truly want to go home for the holidays.”

“I hope so.” She closed the door, waving Regina goodbye. “Shall we go to sleep?”

“Immediately.” He kissed his wife, clutching her to him.


	20. Chapter 20

“Will you stop tossing and turning?” Gold, who once again was awakened by Regina's movements, pulled his wife close to him and looked at his watch. “It’s one at night and you're still awake. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” She turned to him, settling on his shoulder. “I just can’t lie comfortably.”

“You know, I don't like this.” he reached for the phone. “I think it's worth calling Medisson.”

“What for?” The Queen raised her head.

“Doesn't it bother you that you had been sleeping well before but tonight I wake up for the third time from your endless rotations?” He kissed her temple with ease.

“If I disturb you, I can go sleep in the guest bedroom.” the Queen shrugged.

“You’re not bothering me at all, let's just find out what is happening.” He finally found the number he needed.

“Really?”, the Queen asked while raising an eyebrow. “Are we calling her in the middle of the night simply because I have insomnia?”

“Yes.” He pressed the call button.

***

Twenty minutes later, a slightly disheveled Dr. Medisson was already sitting at the edge of Gold's bed.

“I was against it.”, the Queen smiled at her, “But my husband, who is such a greater specialist in my pregnancy than me, thinks that I’m in labor.”

“It's quite possible.” she nodded, putting on her gloves. “If you allow me, I will examine you now. Please, take a deep breath ... yeah ... excellent ... ". She looked to the side as she was examining the Queen attentively and she was palpitating. "Inhale again ... yeah. Well, what can I say, your husband is right. The cervix is soft and we already have almost a centimeter of dilation. You really are in labor.”

“What, right now?” Regina asked confused.

“What surprises you so much?” Medisson smiled. “As far as I remember, the expected date of birth was the day before yesterday. So everything is going according to plan. Another 9 or 10 hours and you will see your daughter.”

“But how is this possible?” The Queen lifted on her elbows. “Shouldn't I have contractions? There is none of them.”

“You just don’t feel them yet.” The doctor listened to the baby’s heartbeat. “Rather, you feel them but don’t understand what they are. Therefore, you can’t fall asleep. It happens.”

“I don’t know ... I imagined all this in a completely different way.”, the Queen said perplexed, sitting down on the bed.

“Don't worry.” The doctor took her hand. “You are fine.”

“Yes, I like how everything goes so far.” Regina nodded. “And what, am I going to the clinic right away?”

“As you wish.”, Medisson answered. “You can go to the clinic right away. Or you can come to us in the morning. It all depends on where you feel more calm and relaxed to stay at. If you want, I can give you a sleeping pill so you can get some sleep.”

“No.” Gold took his phone from his pocket and almost dropped it. “I’ll call the nanny and we are going to the clinic.”

“Really?” Regina looked at her husband. “But I would like to sleep, if that’s possible.”

“You’ll sleep at the clinic.”, he answered.

“At home, I will be sleeping with you.”, the Queen smiled.

“Don’t play dumb!” Gold grimaced. “Regina, you are giving birth, you should be under the doctors’ supervision. What if something goes wrong? If something happens to you?”

“In the first stage of labor, this is very unlikely.”, Medisson remarked.

“You know, dearie, what am I hearing here? I’m hearing the word “likely”. Gold said sharply to her. “So you should go to the clinic already and do something useful there.”

“Perhaps I will do just so.” The doctor smiled, hastening to slip out the door.

“What's the matter with you?” The Queen touched his hand.

“What’s the matter with me?” He dialed the number of the nanny.

“It seems that maybe I should panic and get nervous as well.” the Queen smiled.

“I'm not nervous at all.” He leaned over and kissed his wife. “Will she ever pick up the phone or not?...”

“Yes, you aren’t nervous at all.”, the Queen nodded, heading to the bathroom.

***

“I can’t take it anymore.” Dr. Medisson stepped out of the room and leaned on the counter in the corridor. “What time is it?”

“Almost five.”, the nurse answered.

“I need Stern.”, she sighed. “Well, why was it impossible to start giving birth in the morning, or afternoon, or evening -any time he is here?”

“He is here.” the nurse answered.

“Really?”, Medisson rejoiced.

“Yes.” the nurse nodded. “He had an emergency operation, but he’s already finished, so if he hasn’t left yet…”

“Shshsh” she put a finger on her lips while pressing the phone to her ear. “David? Are you still in the clinic? Can you come meet me at the obstetric ward?”

“It depends, Katherine.” Stern said wearily. “If you need me as an orthopedist then I’m already running, but as a head doctor I’m off, my working day starts at nine in the morning.”

“You’ll never guess.” She smiled, realizing that he is still on. “I need you as a friend of Gold.”

“Really?” ,Stern exclaimed. “Regina’s giving birth?”

“I don't know.” Medisson sighed. “I still haven’t figured out which one of them is indeed.”

“Well, an eventful and interesting night awaits you.” Stern grinned. “Morning ... midday ... evening ...”

“There is no need for such gloomy predictions.”, Medisson grimaced.

“How long has Regina been here?”, the doctor asked.

“Three hours”, she answered.

“And you’re still alive?”, Stern was surprised. “Then your chances of surviving further are pretty high.”

“Are you coming or not?” Madisson asked irritably.

“Well, I’m technically here already.”, a voice came behind her.

“God, David!” She jumped away from him. “You can’t sneak up like that! I'm already scared.”

“Don't be scared.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “But it is better to write a will now.”

“I see, you’re having a lot of fun, aren’t you?” Medisson squinted at him.

“Tell me everything.” He also leaned on the counter and began to look closely at the window leading to the desired room.

“I examined her at home at one a.m.” Medisson began. “We had a centimeter of dilation and completely painless contractions. I left after advising her to sleep a little and then come to us, then the waters flowed off from Regina and the dilation stopped. Now we have two centimeters and, as you know, extremely painful dry contractions. Guess who is now the clumsy idiot there is no use of.”

“The answer is obvious.” David smiled. “Come on, show me how sharp your nails are!”

“Very funny!”, Medisson said. “We all want anesthesia but we are waiting for the cervix to smooth out. Since labor isn’t going that well.”

“Do it now along with oxytocin”, Stern suggested.

“It's a great idea.” Medisson agreed. “And after we have full dystocia, you will explain to Gold yourself why his child needs to be under the supervision of a neurologist for several years and Regina's cervix is completely ripped apart, right?”

“And why would there be dystocia?” Stern shrugged. “On the contrary, everything will be better with oxytocin and anesthesia.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Dr. Stern, I forgot to congratulate you on receiving an additional certificate in the field of obstetrics.” She bowed slightly.

“I’ve had an internship practice.” Stern smiled.

“That's what we need.” Medisson nodded. “The first birth in 37 years is just what an intern can cope with. I believe in you, Dr. Stern!” She patted him on the shoulder.

“And who says that? The clumsy idiot there is no use of?” Stern laughed. “Okay, don’t worry” he hugged her a little “he doesn’t really think so.”

“He probably doesn't think so”, she agreed, “but he is stressed out and he needs to get all this out to someone. But there is no one besides me and Regina.”

“Maybe it would smooth things out if we somehow removed him from there?”, he suggested. “He probably makes Regina nervous as well.”

“I would watch with interest how you would have gone about it”, Katherine grinned, “but he doesn’t make Regina nervous. He calms her down, he entertains her, he breathes along with her. There’s a lot of benefit from having him there.”

“Okay, I understand everything.” He looked thoughtfully at the ward window. “Tell me, Katherine. Do you like how Gold looks like?”

“In terms of?” She looked confused at Stern.

“I mean, how long has he had such an interesting complexion?”, he specified.

“Well ... I don’t know ...” she, following Stern, looked at the ward window.

“Well, of course, we are obstetricians, we are not interested in faces, especially the husbands’” Stern nodded.

“Oh come on, I try not to look at him at all unnecessarily” Katherine dismissed, “so as not to turn his attention to myself once again.”

“I understand. Okay, I’m going in there and you, since you're still a useless idiot, please go to the pharmacist and bring me two syringes: one with reserpine, one with magnesium.”, Stern asked.

***

“Well, look who showed up!” Stern entered the room. “Hi.” He nodded to Gold. “Regina, how are you?”

“Awful.”, the Queen answered quietly, “it seems to me I have already changed my mind about giving birth.”

“You're not alone.” Stern smiled at her. “My mother refused to give birth at all. She demanded that she’d be discharged immediately and sent home. But, as you can see, I'm here.”

“God…”, the Queen breathed, nuzzling her pillow.

“Shshsh” Gold carefully lifted her by the shoulders, clutching her and swaying a little: “I'm here, it’s fine, breathe.”

“Regina, don't hold your breath.” Stern said worriedly. “You shut off oxygen to her, you hear the monitor ...”

“Can you shut up?!” Gold asked irritably.

He fell silent, stepping back a step.

“Come on, baby.” His voice instantly changed. “Slowly, along with me.”, he whispered, stretching the words. Continuing to hold her with one hand, he slowly stroked her hair, resting his forehead on her forehead. “Everything is already over.” he whispered affectionately to Regina. “It is already passing ... Let’s inhale again ... There you are, well done ... You are my bunny ... You are my kitten ... You are a smart one ... That’s it ... Everything is already passing ... Already passed ...”

“Give me some water.”, the Queen whispered a little hoarsely.

He took water from a bottle in his mouth and kissed his wife.

“Some more?”

“No.” She closed her eyes, stretching herself out on the bed.

“Relax.” He carefully removed a strand of hair from her face. “Do you really think you're the first to notice and say that? And that we are not aware of our problems ourselves?” He asked Stern calmly.

“Probably not the first.”, he answered. ‘Listen, have you tried changing something? Walk, stand in the shower…”, he turned to Regina.

“And he still considers himself the discoverer, right?” Regina said without opening her eyes.

“It’s starting to annoy me.” Gold nodded.

“Sorry, it turns out automatically.”, muttered Stern.

“Control your impulses better, Dr. Stern.” Gold smiled. “And state already the purpose of your visit. Obviously, you did not just happen to pass by at five in the morning by accident.”

“Well, not by accident.”, he smiled back. “Firstly, Katherine complains about you, saying that you intimidated her so much she will soon start having chronic tremor and enuresis but I cannot allow this: she is my best obstetrician, as you know. Secondly, I need to fix you up a little. I don't really like the way you look.”

“Well, I didn’t plan to please you.” Gold shrugged. “Actually, I'm a married man, so whatever you think of yourself there, forget it.”

“You know, I don't like the way you look either.”, the Queen entered the conversation. “Now, when David said it, I looked at you carefully and you don't look very well.”

“Well, now this is a problem.” He stroked her hand.

“How are we doing?” Medisson entered the room.

“The same.”, Gold answered her. “You see”, he turned to Stern, “your best obstetrician believes that anesthesia with such a small dilation will not only harm the mother but also the baby. Obviously the fact that Regina can’t breathe because of the pain is really beneficial for both of them!”

“I already understood the essence of your conflict.” Stern nodded. “But, with all the love I have for you, I am on Katherine's side here because she can substantiate her point of view. Did you bring it?”, he asked Medisson.

“Of course.” She gave him two syringes.

“Sit down.” he turned to Gold, taking a tonometer from the nightstand.

“I thought you had determined it by eye.” Gold grinned, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt.

“I determined it by eye.” Stern nodded. “The question is how accurately. I don’t know about you but I’m interested to find out.”

“Well how accurately then?” Gold inquired when the tonometer was beeping.

“Enough.” Stern silently showed him the numbers. “And you don't feel anything?”

“No.” Gold shook his head. “I have enough of Regina's sensations.”

“Come on, give me your shoulder.” Stern tapped the syringe, driving the air out of it.

“Everything is ready for us.” Medisson said who was once again examining the Queen during that time. “I'll send for an anesthesiologist right now.”

“Well, you’ll see, now everything will be much simpler.” Stern injected him twice.

“I hope so.” Gold grimaced, rubbing his shoulder.

“That's it, my dear.” Stern went to Regina, “All the bad things have ended. Come on, sit up.” He held out his hand to the Queen.

“Are you kidding me?” Regina smiled sourly. “I can’t even raise my head.”

“I will help you.” He took her hand. “Come on, lower your legs. Hold her.” he nodded to Gold, setting the Queen up.

“Here it is, again.” The Queen laid her head on the hand of her husband, who held her tightly by the shoulders.

“Breathe, baby, it’ll be over soon.”, he lightly kissed her temple. “Just a couple of minutes.”

“Hello.” A man with a plastic suitcase entered the room. “I ...”

“You are our anesthesiologist, blah blah ...” Stern interrupted. “Come on, set it up.”

“Signatures?” He handed Stern the papers about informed consent.

“Everything will be signed.” The head physician assured him.

“It will hurt a little.”, the doctor warned the Queen, pulling out a needle and a catheter.

“Oh really?” She laughed. ”Who would have thought.”

“Now bend your back slightly towards me and do not move.” After having injected novocaine, he quickly inserted a catheter needle between the vertebrae, secured it and introduced the first dose of anesthetic.

“Good Lord.” The Queen straightened up a minute later.

“I will come back when it will be necessary to repeat.” The anesthesiologist exited the room.

“I hope so.” She lay down again. “And so now it will be like that until the end?”, she asked Medisson.

“Not really.” she answered. “When we’re closer to a full dilation, about three centimeters, we’ll stop adding anesthetic in order to make you feel the bearing pains, otherwise there may be problems.”

“There will be anyway.”, the Queen said barely audibly. “How far away are we from Storybrooke?” She asked her husband when they were alone.

“Six hours.” Gold answered automatically.

“Let’s go!” The Queen squeezed his hand. “I need magic! I can’t give birth to her myself!”

“No.” He pulled her hand to him and kissed it. “We don’t know what will happen. What if she just disappears when we cross the city border?”

“Let's take a chance.” Regina whispered. “I can't take this pain anymore. I can’t give birth to her.”

“Well, of course you can.” he leaned towards his wife and pulled her over her shoulders. “You have already covered most of the way, there are very few things left.”

“I really need magic.” Regina repeated.

“And we really know that is impossible.” He kissed his wife. “Everything will be fine, baby, we will give birth to her without any magic.”

“How are you feeling?” The Queen suddenly asked.

“Excellent.” He kissed her again.

“Come here.” She moved slightly, making room in the bed. “Lie with me.”

Gold lay down next to her and she settled in his arms.

“I needed to have done this a long time ago.” She arched her back a bit, snuggling closer to him.

***

“Rumple!”

It was less than an hour after they had both fallen asleep.

“Rumple!” She pushed her husband again.

“What happened?” Gold asked sleepily.

“Find Medisson, right now.”, the Queen replied quickly. “I think I'm already in labor.”

“It cannot be.” he muttered, falling into sleep again. “There were just only three centimeters there.”

“Seriously, Rumple, wake up.”, she told her husband. “I can already feel her head.”

“Okay, I'm not sleeping.” He slowly sat up, still not opening his eyes. “What, you mean, the head? Already? Where?” He jumped to his feet.

“Good morning.” The Queen smiled nervously.

A minute later, Medisson was already examining her.

“That's right.” she nodded. “We have full dilation. Let's try pushing, right here, into my hand. Yeah, here it is the head. Let's breathe for a couple more contractions and then give birth. Karen!”, she shouted into the corridor. “Call me a neonatologist. And Stern.”

“But I feel almost nothing.”, the Queen said, bewildered.

“What can we do, we will focus on CTG.” she focused on the monitor. “Right now we have very good contractions. Do you feel anything?”

“No.”, Regina answered uncertainly.

“But you feel her head?”, she asked.

“Yes, just like your hand.”, the Queen confirmed.

“Well, that's good! At least you feel the touch.” Medisson nodded.

“What is going on here?” Stern entered the room.

“She’ll be born here any minute ... Who?” The doctor looked at the Queen.

“Charlotte.”, she smiled.

“Charlotte.”, she repeated. “You asked me to call you.”

“That was fast.” Stern went to Gold, who was standing next to his wife. “How are you feeling? Are you all right?”

“You know, a polite person would ask me this question.”, Regina laughed.

“Why ask you?” Stern dismissed. “Your anesthesia has not worn out yet, you feel great. This is a dad who’s nervous.”

“Who? ME?” Gold turned to him. “I'm not nervous at all.”

“He's not nervous at all.” Regina added. “Never!”

“So, Regina…” Madison sat on a stool, opposite her. “Now we have very good contractions. When I say so, take a deep breath and push it right here, into my hand, okay? .. Let's do it! .. No, not enough! .. Let's do it again! .. Once again! .. Come on, come on, come on- come on! .. No, you’re not trying at all ... Let’s do it again! .. Inhale! .. More! .. Clever girl! The head is already there! Let’s do it once more and that’s all! .. Wait ... Now! .. Let’s go! .. No, it won’t work, she goes back to you. Hold the air. Longer! .. Come on! Right now! More, more, more, more ... Here she is!” She lifted up the baby, who instantly squealed. “Well, what a nice, polite girl we have here.” Katherine smiled. “She just came to the world and greeted everyone immediately.” She handed the child to the neonatologist.

“Are you okay?” Stern supported the staggering Gold.

“Completely.” he answered, looking fascinated at the girl. “Let me hold Charlotte.”

“They will give her back soon.” Stern assured him. “Now kiss Regina.”

“Who?” Gold asked without turning around.

“Yes of course!”, the Queen laughed. “As if he needs me now! He already has his beloved girl.”

“How is it possible to not need you? You are our mother.” Gold leaned towards her and kissed her gently for a long time. “We will always need you.”

“Hold her, mother.” the neonatologist quickly gave the baby to Regina, having finished the necessary treatments quickly.

“Hello Princess!” The Queen smiled, clutching her daughter to her chest. “She's so tiny.”, she turned to her husband. “I think Gideon was bigger.”

“Well, she’s a girl.” He stroked the baby on the cheek with the back of his fingers. “She is graceful. Look at her fingers.” He took his daughter's hand, carefully straightening her long, thin fingers. “Have you ever seen fingers like these?” The baby squeezed his finger. “Look how tenacious you are!” He carefully kissed the little palm.

“She's amazing.” The Queen reached out to her husband and kissed him. “She looks like you.”

“You think so?” He pressed his cheek to her shoulder.

“Oh, well, don't flirt.” Stern lightly patted his shoulder. “Even I can see it. She is your exact copy, absolutely her dad’s girl.”

“Can you imagine how unfair life is?”, the Queen smiled at him. “I was so tormented and she looks like I didn’t participate at all in all this, only the dad.”

“And what, you still don't like the way I look?”, Gold asked.

“I like it.”, the Queen laughed. “I like you both.”

“That's better.” Gold nodded. “And give me Charlotte a bit. You held her enough for now; I want to hold her too. This is my girl!”

***

The postpartum ward looked more like a hotel room: a double bed, a wardrobe, a desk. The only things distinguishing it from the hotel room were a cradle and a changing table. Despite the fact that the sun was shining bright on the streets, the heavy blackout curtains on the windows created the necessary twilight. The Queen was feeding her daughter. Gold, lying nearby, pressed on his wife with her back turned to him.

“I have never felt so good.” He looked at his daughter, resting his head on Regina’s shoulder.

“Truly?” She reached for a kiss.

“Yes.” he kissed his wife. “Listen, I already forgot how skinny you are.” He ran a hand along her ribs, down her stomach, to the protruding bones of the pelvis. “It feels unusual.”

“We can get some more kids to make everything familiar again.”, the Queen grinned.

“Really?” He buried his nose in her neck, drawing in her scent. “That’s is an interesting suggestion.” Gold held his wife tighter.

“Dad, don’t shake the feeder, you disorient us.” the Queen stroked her daughter's chin so that she would start sucking again. “We need to call home. Gideon has probably already decided we have abandoned him. And Regina. We need to tell her to come. She will be pleased to be the first one to see her niece.”

“Yes...” Gold yawned. “Sure.” In the evening. Or tomorrow. We'll see. For now we’ll sleep, have breakfast, sleep again, squeeze Charlotte, sleep a little more, then sleep even more ...”

“Good plan.”, Regina agreed. “It seems like Charlotte has already fallen asleep. So we can as well.”

“I love you.” He kissed her neck and buried his nose in her hair. “Both of you.”

“Me too.”, the Queen replied.


	21. Chapter 21

“No ... Belle ... Don't ... Belle ... Why? .. Belle ...”

“Rumple?” The Queen still half asleep turned to her husband and hugged him.

“No ... Belle, don't ...” He jerked sharply, freeing herself from her hands.

“Oh, this is bad.” the Queen muttered, finally waking up. “Hey, everything is fine.” She whispered, holding Gold against her. “You're with me, Rumple, all is well, it's just a dream.”

“No ...”, he jerked again, “don't do this ...”

“Rumple, wake up!” She shook him lightly on the shoulders. “Everything is fine, you are with me. This is just a dream. It’s all right.”

“Where is he?” Gold opened his eyes and looked around the room with a muddy look, not really yet waking up.

“At home.” The Queen stroked his shoulders. “Gideon is at home with the nanny, waiting for us. Charlotte and us. Everything is fine, you are with me.”

“Regina?” He impulsively hugged his wife.

“It's me.” She continued gently stroking him, calming him down. “Everything is fine, you are with me.”

“Sweetheart ...” He buried his nose in her hair, clinging to her. “I’m sorry ...”

“Everything is fine.” she repeated.

“Regina.” He settled on her shoulder, continuing to hug her. “Just don't leave.”

“I'm here.” She kissed his temple. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“Just don't leave me.” He pressed her harder on him. “Don’t leave.”

“I will not leave,” she soothingly stroked his back. “I will never go anywhere, everything is fine, I am with you, we are all with you. The same nightmare?” She asked after a while.

“Yes.” He shook his head, driving away the remnants of the vision. “How long were we sleeping?” He raised himself on his elbow, looking at his daughter sleeping next to the Queen. “Charlotte hasn't woken up yet?”

“She woke up a couple of times” the Queen also turned to the girl, “but we are sleeping in an embrace, so she immediately stuck to me and fell asleep again.”

“Well, it’s more convenient than bottles.” Gold smiled, carefully tracing his daughter’s cheek.

“At times.”, the Queen agreed.

“Listen, I left my phone in the car, I'll go pick it up.” He sat upright, flexing his neck and shoulders. “I’ll take a little walk at the same time, get some air.”

“Good.” She reached out and kissed him. “Do not hang around for a long time.”

“Are you afraid that I will be confused and get lost?” Gold grinned.

“Exactly so.” She sat behind him and hugged. “These nightmares will end someday.”

“I have no doubt.” He stood up, gently freeing himself from her hands and headed for the exit. “Do you want me to bring you anything?” He turned around at the door.

“Yourself.”, the Queen smiled.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened again.

“Look who I found near the reception in the waiting area.” Opening the door, Gold skipped forward Miss Mills.

“Regina?” The Queen was surprised. “How did you end up here?”

“Well, I accompanied Henry, I didn’t sleep all night and in the morning I went to you. Your nanny told me that you are here, so I came here.”

“How long have you been sitting here?”, her sister asked.

“I don’t know ... Since morning.”, the Mayor answered uncertainly.

“Why didn’t you say you were here before?” Regina was surprised.

“You were sleeping, I did not want to wake you up.”, she shrugged.

“What time is it now?” The Queen asked, going up to her.

“Almost five p.m.” Gold answered her.

“And you sat all day in the hallway?” She hugged her sister.

“It's still better than the hotel.” Miss Mills shook her head. “Where David is harassing me.”

“On the topic?” the Queen specified.

“On the topic: where did Gold go and when will they go to Storybrooke” The woman sighed. “He's crazy because he cannot reach you and believes that he was deceived. And now, when I left, he calls me constantly. Here he is, calling again.” She took out a vibrating phone from her pocket. “What should I tell him? When will you go?”

“Let's go right now.” Gold answered cheerfully. “Why shall we wait? Regina will get home on foot, it’s not far from here. I’ll just borrow Stern’s shirt, he probably has a spare, otherwise it’s embarrassing to go on such an important trip in a T-shirt.”

“I'm serious.” Miss Mills smiled.

“And I'm serious.” Gold nodded. “I myself can’t wait any longer. I almost feel the taste of Granny’s burgers ... Can’t wait!”

“Hamburgers are worse in New York?” The Mayor decined the call and put the phone back in her pocket.

“My wife doesn’t allow me to eat this in New York.” Gold glanced at the Queen. “She is, as you know, a tyrant and a despot no less than me.”

“Yes, that's right.”, she grinned. “No magic means no fast food full of cholesterol. Life is not fair.”

“See?” He turned to the Mayor.

“And here he calls again.” She patted her pocket. “Maybe you can talk to him yourself?”

“God forbid!” Gold stepped back from her a step. “Tell him we need a little time to recover. So we’re planning a trip, well, I don’t know, say in two weeks.”

The Mayor answered the call, stepping out into the corridor again.

“Shall we?” Gold lifted up a bottle of champagne he had been holding all this time.

“Where did you get it?”, his wife became interested.

“Down there, at the reception, it’s a gift from the clinic.” He handed her a bottle.

“Not bad.” She turned the bottle around in her hands, reading the label. “Glasses?”

“Look at the nightstands, there should be something there.” Gold nodded. “In an extreme case, there is a cooler at the corridor with plastic cups on it.”

“Funny.” The Queen peered into the bedside table and did indeed pull out a few glasses from it.

“See, it all ended well.” Gold opened the bottle and poured some of its content into three glasses. “Shall we wait for Miss Mills?”

“She will join us later on.” Regina took her glass. “Congratulations, Dad!” She smiled at her husband.

“Thank you.” He pulled his wife to him and kissed her.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” The Mayor, who had just gone back to the room, hastily turned away.

“Well, how did it go?” The Queen faced her sister as she turned away from her husband.

“As usual.” Regina shrugged. “David is in panic and hysteria, saying that everyone deceived him. I am afraid to go back to the hotel.”

“Don't go back.” Her sister handed her a glass. “We have already offered you to move in with us, while you are looking for an apartment.”

“I'll think about it.” She sipped a little champagne. “By the way, you still haven't shown me my niece.”

“Look.” The Queen nodded towards the bed. “Get familiar: this is Charlotte.”

“Oh my god.” The Mayor squatted besides the bed, observing the girl. “What a delight you are, Princess Charlotte. I had already forgotten how small they are. ” She turned to the Queen. “ Can I hold her? ”

“Of course.”, she nodded.

“Shsh, don’t worry, I'm your aunt.” Regina carefully picked up the girl in her arms. “I'm your aunt.”, she repeated, shaking the baby gently.

“I still have to go get the phone.”, Gold whispered to his wife.

“Go on.”, the Queen answered. “Well, what did you think?”, she turned to the Mayor, “Will you move in with Charlotte and us?”

“If I can squeeze her and bathe her and take walks with her and read to her from time to time.” Regina smiled.

“Deal!” She went close to her sister. “Tell me, how did it go with Henry?”

“Pretty complicated ...”, the Mayor hesitated. “Oh, no, no, no, don't cry. Mom is here.” She handed the awakened baby over to the Queen.

“What do you mean “pretty complicated”?” The Queen sat down on the bed, putting her daughter to her breast.

“Well ... I had to tell him that we will continue to work on freeing Emma and the others.”, Regina replied reluctantly. “In the way he sees it, we have something like a new operation, Cobra.”

“Regina.” She cautiously looked at her sister. “You are doing exactly what we asked you not to do. You follow his lead and also give him false hope. Now you are not only delaying the inevitable, you are also putting additional blame on yourself for lying to him.”

“I just couldn’t tell him everything as it is right there.” Miss Mills walked around the room. “Not now, when I send him away to a boarding school.”

“And then when, Regina?” The Queen sighed.

“I don't know.” The Mayor shook her head. “Besides, I still have hopes that you’ll listen to me. I still believe that we could discuss again the fate of these three.”

“Really?”, she asked, trying to suppress her irritation. “My husband is still waking up in cold sweat because he still regularly dreams of losing his second son through the efforts of Miss French. And his therapist still recommends taking a double dose of beta-blockers when it happens. Do you still think you want to talk to me about this? Regina, I want you and me to be fine. I really want that. So I ask you not to circle back to this conversation over and over again.”

“Well, I'm not saying anything about Belle.”, the Mayor continued, “Or Hook. But Emma… She was just trying to help someone who, in her opinion, needed help. We could try to get her out. And then Henry will calm down and David...”

“And Emma will turn our lives into hell, wanting to get her Hook back and restore justice to Belle.”, the Queen interrupted. “No, Regina. Simply no. Accept "no" as an answer and come to terms with it. Or don’t and go back to your original plan. What did you want to do there as Mayor of Storybrooke?”

“Stop it.”, the Mayor said quietly. “We have already agreed that I will not go against you.”

“Then I strongly urge you to stop coming back to this topic over and over again.”, her sister said calmly. “And not just with me. Gold can be very patient and he can calmly explain his position to you repeatedly, but that doesn’t mean that these conversations cost him nothing.”

“I understood you already.” she said, raising her hands conciliatorily.

“I hope so.”, the Queen nodded. “Because everything I say, I usually say it only once. Now I’ve repeated it twice already. There will definitely not be a third time.”

“Don't you think you're pushing me too much?” The Mayor frowned. “Both of you.”

“We are not pushing you.” Regina shook her head. “But you are trying to sit on two chairs at once. It won’t work out that way. You need to choose one side. Choose us, your nephews, your family, your new life. Or choose them. And return to your former life amongst the heroes of Storybrooke.”

“So according to you, you are my only chance for a normal life in general! Seriously?”, Miss Mills flared up. “I never had to choose someone who will make my life better! I always have been the mistress of my life myself. I don’t think this has changed.”

“Nothing has changed.”, the Queen smiled. “You are your life’s mistress. You are making the decisions. But tell me, what is it you want?”

“For now, I know exactly what I do not want.” Regina said sharply. “I do not want to be a poor relative in your house who doesn’t have the right to vote, one that you and Gold will reprimand her for not doing exactly what you told her to do. Or allow her to speak out on a forbidden topic. I don’t need such a future!”

“But that is not so!” She, too, started to wind up. “You are not a poor relative who does not have the right to vote. But family is a compromise. And I don’t ask for much. I have only one condition for you: if possible, don’t hurt Rumple. I understand that for a resident of Storybrooke it sounds wild. After all, it has never crossed the mind of anyone in our town that he is also a living person, that he may have feelings. Perhaps you need time to wrap your head around this notion. But it is just so. And yes, we both have advice and tips for you and Henry. You can use them or not. And we can be upset if you ignore them. But there is no neglect of you.”

“Everything will be either the way you want it or not at all - that's what I see. After all, you are doing me a great favor. The poor orphan! You let me into your house to warm myself by the fireplace. And if I behave, then you may even pour me a bowl of hot soup.”

“What are you talking about?”, the Queen sighed.

“That’s what it looks like!”, the Mayor answered fervently.

“You know this isn’t so.” She stood up and took her hand. “You are my sister, you are his beloved student. None of us want to offend you. I guess I really was too harsh with you. But this whole story is too painful for our family. You don’t know what we experienced when Belle and Emma appeared here. Don’t, Regina, do not make us get even deeper in this. Finally, for us it was all over. I know it's hard for you now. You worry about Henry, you are not used to accepting help from someone, you are not used to giving in, you think that our care humiliates you and puts you in a dependent position. But this is not so.”

“Of course”, the Mayor chuckled, “and if I learn to give in well then you might even let me choose the color of the walls in my New York apartment.”

“You take everything so intensely because this is an unusual and very difficult situation for you.”, the Queen nodded. “You were always by yourself and, accordingly, you made all the decisions as an individual, without the need for any deliberative vote, you are used to it. But accepting help does not humiliate and we are not bargaining. We are not trying to buy you over. When you calm down, you will see it yourself.”

“You know, I need to take a walk!” The Mayor rose to her feet. “I'm going to get some coffee.”

She flew out into the corridor, almost colliding with Gold at the door.

“What is the matter with her?” He nodded at her direction, entering the room.

“Don’t pay attention.”, the Queen dismissed. “It will blow over.”

“Are you sure?” Gold crouched on the bed next to her.

“Of course, she’s me.” The Queen smiled, leaning against his shoulder. “Found your phone?”

“Yes.” Gold nodded. “And we are very popular.” He showed her the missed calls screen. “In addition to Regina and David, we have eight more missed from Jessica.”

“Oh my god.” The Queen pressed closer to her husband. “She already knows.”

“Yes, everyone already knows.”, he sighed. “The front desk is filled with flowers. It looks like our friend, Dr. Stern, has already notified our entire poker club. And Jessica is about to pay us a visit.”

“We can leave right now for our house on the lake or fly to the islands.”, the Queen whispered to him.

“She will pitch a tent in the garden.” Gold smiled. “You know it. Besides, the Trentons are always important to us. And not only them. So get ready in the near future to introduce Charlotte to the public following all the unwritten rules. However, for you it’s nothing of a shock, you are a Queen.”

“I am a Queen who has fled from my kingdom.” Regina sighed. “And I was hoping to get by without the whole procedure required for giving a name.”

“Alas.” Gold stroked her hair. “The laws of the world of money-magic are not very different from the laws of our world and there you are still the Queen, with all the ensuing responsibilities.”

“You can’t get away from fate, right?” Regina kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“Something like that.” Gold agreed. “We have to explain to everyone why we called our daughter Charlotte and not Judith, Esther or Nimue, as everyone dreamed of.”, he grinned. “Oh, and here she is again.” He answered the call: “Yes, Jessica, everything is fine, thank you! Oh wait, I'll hand the phone over to Regina.” The Queen waved her arms away from him. “Yes, she’s just taking the phone from me.” Gold handed it to his wife.

“I hate you.”, the Queen mouthed at him, bringing the phone to her ear. “Hello!” She said cheerfully into the receiver. “Yes ... So far yes ... Well, I don’t know ... When? .. Oh, Jessica, I don’t even know ... Ah ... Well, yes ... We are waiting for you ...” She disconnected. “She is coming!” She returned the phone to her husband. “She will be here in 10 minutes.”

“Did you have any doubt?” He put the phone in his pocket. “More champagne?”

“Perhaps.” the Queen nodded.

***

“Come on!” The Mayor of Storybrooke angrily kicked the coffee machine at the lobby of the clinic. “Stupid piece of metal!”

“Are you okay?” She heard a voice coming from behind her.

“I'm fine! But this machine isn’t!” The Mayor answered without looking back. “It ate my twenty all right and still hasn't poured me a damn coffee!” She kicked again the iron box with force.

“Regina, what's wrong with you?”, continued the same, unfamiliar voice.

“How do you know ...”, the Mayor began. “Ah, yes ... I’m not Mrs. Gold, I’m her sister.” She finally turned to her previously invisible conversationalist and froze as she looked into the big brown eyes of the man standing next to her.

“I didn’t know Regina has a sister.” The man was a little bewildered. “In any case, it's nice to meet you. David Stern.”

“Regina Mills.” She automatically held out her hand, not taking her eyes off his face.

“What do you mean?” Stern was even more confused. “Are you a Regina too?”

“Yes.”, the Mayor said wearily. “It shocks everyone. But yes, we are both Reginas.”

“So everything is all right with you, Regina Mills?” Stern smiled.

“Yes”, she nodded, “probably.”

“If you want, I can make you coffee. You still won’t get it from this machine even when it works, it pours an artificial substitute.

“No”, Regina dismissed, “that’s okay. You probably have a lot to do.”

“My work is finished for today.” The man smiled again. “Come on! I have great coffee in my office. And brandy. I see that right now you need both.”

***

Returning to the ward, Miss Mills found Jessica who was already familiar to her.

“Oh, hello Regina!” The woman waved at her, as soon as she entered.

“Jessica.” The Mayor smiled, “Nice to see you again.”

“Same here. I was hoping we would meet more than once.” The woman quickly approached her and hugged her. “My Regina is very worried about the relationship between you two.”, she whispered at the Mayor’s ear. “She really needs a sister.”

“Yes, I understand.”, the Mayor answered uncertainly.

“You smell of a very familiar perfume.” Jessica sniffed her shamelessly. “I can’t remember the name.”

“I don’t remember it myself either.” Miss Mills pulled away from her. “I got sprinkled with it this morning at the store.”

“Are you all right? Have you calmed down?” the Queen asked quietly when the Mayor moved away from their guest and approached her.

“Yes.” Regina nodded. “All is well.”

“Okay, I see you still have family conversations here.” Jessica threw a coat over her shoulders. “We are in agreement over everything, right?” She looked at the Queen with a smile.

“Of course.” The Queen smiled back.

“Then I’ll see you later.” She took her purse. “Let me take a picture of you with the baby.”, she said, taking out her phone. “I want to show Howard. Rumple, stand next to your wife, I like it when you are all together. Can you do that? Do you mind?”

“Jessica, how can I refuse you?” Gold laughed, hugging the Queen.

“That's true.” she smiled, taking their photo. “That's it, now it's definitely goodbye. See you soon! Miss Mills, I hope you too.”

“You crouched.” The Mayor whispered to the Queen as soon as Jessica disappeared behind the door.

“What?” The Queen did not understand.

“When she photographed you. You made yourself look shorter.” the Mayor repeated. “Just like Cora taught you and me. I thought we both hated palace etiquette.”

“What does palace etiquette have to do with it?”, the Queen asked bewildered. “The photos look better this way.”

“And do you think this is normal? To crouch in front of your husband?” The Mayor did not let it go. “And you feel okay when your wife crouches in front of you?” She turned to Gold.

“You crouch? Oh my God! What a nightmare!” Gold portrayed amazement.

“Well, technically, I crouched in front of Jessica.” the Queen grinned.

“Yeah, I see, both of you having fun with it!” Regina was boiling again. “And you are not at all humiliated to crouch in front of your husband.”

“Listen, am I just as boring?”, the Queen asked Gold.

“No, what are you saying.” Gold hugged his wife. “You're not at all boring, at all. For sure!”

“So now I'm boring?”, Regina snapped.

“Yes.” the Queen nodded. “And you smell of Stern's cologne. If you keep being boring, we’ll start discussing about that instead.”


	22. Chapter 22

“Look, this one doesn’t look bad at all.” The Mayor turned her laptop to the Queen. “Two bedrooms, a view of the bay ...”

“The subway under the window.”, the Queen nodded, looking at the screen. They were both sitting in Gold’s living room, drinking coffee.

“So what?”, the Mayor shrugged. “It’s on the seventh floor, we won’t hear any trains.”

“It may seem so to you.” The Queen ran through several offers on the site. “Here is a nice apartment: across the street from us, 120 meters plus an attic and a central park is a stone's throw away.”

“It's too expensive!” The Mayor raised her eyebrows, looking at the screen. “And far from city hall.”

“I wouldn’t advise you living near the city hall.”, the Queen grimaced. “Far from the best areas in our city.”

“As far as I understand, the main thing in your city is to be able to walk to work on foot.” Regina grinned. “This is also a good apartment ...”

“Not if you need to live in Chinatown for this.” She pointed her finger at the screen “And this “good apartment ” is there.”

“So what?” The Mayor looked through the photos. “I like it: both in appearance and price.”

“No, this isn’t an option at all.” The Queen poured herself more coffee. “You will be afraid to leave the house there.”

“Listen, I’ll never find an apartment for myself.”, the Mayor begged. “If I listen to you, then they are all in the wrong place and not “like that” but in that place “and such” are too expensive.”

“Do you remember that Rumple is ready to pay for everything?”, the Queen specified.

“Yes, but do you also remember that this option doesn’t suit me?” The Mayor sighed. “I am able to buy an apartment myself!”

“In Chinatown.”, the Queen nodded.

“Even there! So what? Thousands of people live there and are happy with everything!”, the Mayor retorted.

“Wait a bit, look around, maybe there will be an offer in a good area that you can afford.” The Queen added coffee to her. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Well, I can’t live with you forever.” She opened another ad.

“You live with us for only a week ...”, the Queen began.

“... and I already saw Gold in his underpants.”, the Mayor interrupted.

“You two just need to work out a schedule for using the pool.”, her sister smiled, “since you are so shocked by naked men.”

“And have I already mentioned what good audibility we have between our bedrooms?”, the Mayor hesitated.

“Does Charlotte bother you?”, the Queen was surprised. “But she only cried once at night during this whole week.”

“What bothers me is what I hear in the mornings.”, the Mayor answered, looking at the table.

“Oh ...” The Queen went deep into the real estate site again. “But this is not a reason to grab the first doghouse they have with a view of the subway.” She added after a pause.

The Mayor’s phone rang. She frowned sharply as she read the message.

“Something happened?”, the Queen asked.

“Henry.” Regina showed the Queen a message. “David told him that I live with you now.”

“Pretty rude.” The Queen stopped reading and looked at her sister with sympathy.

“He already figured out I had deceived him.” She put the phone in her pocket. “And now he hates me.” She lowered her head.

“No.” The Queen hugged her. “Please don't cry! My milk will flow and this is my last dry T-shirt.”

“Very funny.” She also hugged the Queen, resting her forehead on her shoulder.

“But it's true.” She lightly kissed her sister on the top of her head. “Give him time. You lied in vain to him and saw him off to England, but he will calm down. Everything will gradually improve.”

“You don't know that.” Regina wiped her tears. They were interrupted by a persistent knock on the door.

“I'll get it.” the Queen went to the entrance hall.

“I'll come with you.” Regina went after her. “I do not like unexpected guests.”

On the threshold stood David Nolan.

“Where is Gold? I need him urgently!” The Prince declared from the threshold.

“David? What brings you here so suddenly?” The Queen was surprised. “It seems to me we have discussed and agreed on everything already.”

“I need Gold!”, he repeated.

“And hello to you too, Mr. Nolan!”, the hostess laughed. “Did something happen? Is there something urgent? Why the panic?”

“It happened!”, the Prince answered irritably. “Snow got worse!”

“And how did you reach this conclusion?”, the Queen asked.

“We left her under Whale’s supervision. He called me today. She does not sleep anymore, she fell into a coma!”

“Well, that’s quite normal.” His conversationalist shrugged. “Since you are not in town, she experiences a doubled down sleeping curse and that of course plunges her into a deeper sleep. There is nothing to worry about. It isn’t dangerous for her life. When the curse is removed, both of you will be as good as new.”

“Okay then! So let him remove it now!” the Prince exclaimed. “Where is he?!”

“You will not believe it, but he is also sleeping.”, the Queen answered calmly.

“In the middle of the day?”, David asked.

“Yes. What's so strange?” The Queen spread her hands. “We have small children, one of which is jealous of his sister and pesters us around the clock with his whims. We all get some sleep when we can. So I'm sorry, but your timing is off.”

“Wake him up!” The Prince did not retreat. “The matter is urgent!”

“I already explained to you there is no urgency.”, the Queen continued. “And I won’t wake Rumple just for him to explain it to you again either.”

“How can I trust you ?!” The Prince was boiling. “This won’t work! We made a deal with Gold!” He wanted to step inside the house, on the hallway, but the Queen blocked his path.

“See, this is exactly what I was telling you about.” she nodded to Regina. “For a resident of Storybrooke, my words sound like nonsense.” She held out her hand for her sister who was standing a little behind her. “Come here, look carefully at Mr. Nolan. He looks exactly like you now, when we once again began to discuss the fate of our prisoners. Look how confused he is: he hears my words, understand each one individually but cannot connect them together because for him, it is complete gibberish. He really needs! Now! This second! Him! Generally, it’s not clear to him how Gold can sleep in this situation and it’s especially unclear why it’s impossible to wake him right away.”

“You know, Gold is right.” Regina grinned, hugging her sister by the shoulders. “You really are absolutely not at all boring at all, not for one bit!”

“Well, I can’t miss out on such a good illustrative example.” The Queen smiled. “David”, she turned to the prince again, “you’ve probably already noticed yourself that in this city everything is a little different than in Storybrooke. And this house is no exception. You can’t come here at any time and demand immediate attention. So, no matter how shocking it may sound, you have to leave.”

“But the situation has changed! I don’t believe it isn’t dangerous!”, the Prince didn’t give up. “We can't wait another week!”

“In a couple of hours, you can discuss this with Gold, preferably by phone. When he wakes up, I will ask him to call you.”, she answered patiently.

“Really?” David did not let up. “Are you really throwing me out?”

“Yes.” Mrs. Gold confirmed. “Exactly. This isn’t Storybrooke. Here you can’t barge into my husband’s place at any time, demanding immediate attention. This is New York, a developed civilization with respect for the rights of others. If you need something, use the phone. Write a message on the phone or leave a voice message if you don’t know how to write.”

“You can't do that!” The Prince looked bewildered.

“I’m tired of explaining to you: nothing threatens Snow White’s life, she simply plunged into a deeper sleep. You spent 28 years like that and, as you can see, nothing happened to you. Gold can’t right now, immediately, give you his attention. He's sleeping. So take a walk for a couple of hours, calm your nerves. It will be useful for Neal as well. Gold will call you when he wakes up. Goodbye, David. I hope you’ll leave yourself and I won’t have to call the police.” She closed the door to the astonished Prince’s face.

“He will climb through the window.”, the Mayor said thoughtfully.

“Hardly.” the Queen smiled. “He still needs to move away from the shock. It will take quite some time. Come on, let me show you another good option in Manhattan. You will be Stern’s neighbor.”

“And why is this important to me?”, the Mayor asked.

“Oh, stop it!” Her sister hugged her by the shoulders, dragging her along. “We all saw how you looked at each other when Charlotte and I checked out. And he, by the way, is quite a catch. Forty years old, divorced, not only the chief surgeon, but also the co-owner of the clinic.”

“Let's start with the apartment.”, the Mayor grinned.

“The apartment is also quite a catch, right across the street from his house.”


	23. Chapter 23

“Put on that blue one from your days of reign.” Gold nodded to one of the dresses.

The Queen walked between the rows of hangers in the dressing room, slowly sorting through the outfits.

“Are you kidding me?” She turned to her husband. “Where did you get the idea it would fasten on me?”

“I detected it by touch.” He smiled at her. “You can be certain it will fasten.”

“And how will it look even if it does fasten?” She went to the mirror, meticulously examining her figure.

“If you don’t try it, you won’t know.” Gold shrugged. “Put it on, I'll fasten it.” He handed the dress over to her.

“Let’s see it.” Regina grinned.

“Do you?” He methodically fastened the barely noticeable hooks on the back of the dress.

“I see it.” She rolled her shoulder blades so he could finish up. “But if I make at least one abrupt movement, then one of those hooks will knock someone’s eye out.”

“Well then, don’t make sudden movements.” He ran his hands along her ribs, down the waist, on her hips and slightly pulled them, bringing his wife close to him, looking at the mirror.

“Is this the dress you had said before the neckline could have been more modest?” Regina smiled at his reflection.

“Apparently, yes.” He slowly kissed her shoulder.

“And what do you say now?” She tilted her head to the side, placing her neck for a kiss.

“I say that you were right: this dress doesn’t fit after all.” Kissing the Queen on the neck, he buried his nose in her hair. “Maybe try another blue, the one with the cut on the back?”

“No, the cut is too big.”, his wife sighed. “Remind me why we agreed to this at all?”

“Because people will be pleased and it’ll be good for us.” He kissed her again.

“Oh, there you are,” Madame Mayor looked in the room. “That won't do.”, she said from the threshold. “It's too long.”

“You think I should rather wear a mini skirt?”, the Queen asked ironically.

“Who said anything about a mini skirt? This dress is just not safe. Imagine you going down the stairs with Charlotte in your arms.” She nodded to the hem touching the floor. “You will step on it.”

“Well, you talk reasonably like a mother.”, the Queen smiled. “But I have two hands. I can hold the hem with one, don’t worry. Why were you looking for us?”

“I want to hide with you.” Regina smiled. “In fact, Jessica asked me to tell you her makeup artist will be here in twenty minutes.”

“Where is Jessica?”, her sister asked.

“She is busy decorating your dining room, along with the florists, who she gives a lot of valuable advice at.”

“Good Lord. And that's not counting the flocks of waiters in my kitchen. Are you sure we really have to go through all this?” The Queen laid her head on Gold’s shoulder.

“I’m sure.” He stroked her hair. “There will be a few people here that Trenton really needs if he wants to become Mayor next year. And Regina will have a chance to meet everyone in an informal setting. And Jessica really does want to help. You know her; she sincerely wants to do the best. So just relax, distract yourself from everything that’s happening in the house. This is just for one day. Tomorrow everything will be as usual.”

“Tomorrow you will leave for Storybrooke.” Regina sighed.

“See, you’ll also get enough sleep in silence.” He kissed her temple lightly. “And I could have left yesterday, as Nolan requested, thus avoiding today's reception. But I didn’t do that, I didn’t leave you alone to get tortured by Jessica.” he smiled at his wife.

“You couldn’t. The Trentons would never forgive you for that. So don’t say that!” The Queen was indignant. “But you could leave in a week, as you intended.”

“Well, stop it.” He pressed her to him. “What, in fact, is the difference: tomorrow or in a week? In the end, the sooner I do this, the sooner Nolan will stop nagging everyone. At least for a while.”

“That's true.”, she said softly.

Gold's phone rang.

“This is Stanley.” he looked at the screen. “I had to send him some documents this morning and forgot about it. I’ll be quick.” He nodded to the Queen, slipping out the door.

“Who is this?” Madame Mayor asked the Queen.

“What?” She looked at her sister, bewildered. “Ah ... His lawyer.”

“What's the matter?” Regina put a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t know.”, the Queen cringed, “I don’t want him to leave.”

“It's just a couple of days.” the Mayor smiled. “I will be here all this time, I will help you with the children. And Mrs. Savage is ready to stay here.”

“No, I feel good about the children.” Regina waved it off. “That’s not the issue. It's just ... Ever since we left Storybrooke, we have never parted. I feel uneasy about this.”

“Regina, you’re scaring me.” The Mayor hugged his sister. “Why is it so bad that you won't see each other for a couple of days? You cannot live your whole lives in a locked embrace, like lovebirds.”

“Apparently, I'm still not very emotionally stable after giving birth.” She hugged the Mayor in response. “And extremelly not used to sleeping alone.”

“Do you want me to sleep with you?” Regina grinned.

“God no!”, the Queen laughed. “You know, let's get back to the dress better. Maybe the burgundy one?” She stepped towards the hanger.

“Are you sure you even need an evening gown?” Miss Mills looked around the dressing room. “Maybe try putting on something simpler. What would be more convenient to feed Charlotte?”

“I’m sure.”, her sister nodded. “When you have money and connections, you must follow certain rules.”

“Okay, yes, this is a little complicated.”, the Mayor frowned.

“Nothing complicated.” She put on her brocade dress and grimacing, hung it back. “As the Mayor of Storybrooke, you wouldn’t go to the city hall in shorts and slippers, right? It’s similar here: Mrs. Gold cannot appear at the reception in honor of the birth of her daughter without an evening dress and a diamond necklace.”

“I thought it was kind of an evening for friends.”, Regina said uncertainly.

“Yes, that’s why you just saw two florists in my dining room at once.”, the Queen smiled. “It's kind of like an evening for friends, but with a dress code and a certain official part.”

“I hope at least you won’t raise Charlotte up with outstretched arms, like Simba, standing at the top of the stairs.”, the Mayor said with irony.

“I won't.” her sister assured her. “Although that’s an interesting idea. Cora for example, as far as I know, did just that.”

“At the royal castle, in the Enchanted Forest.” the Mayor laughed.

“Life in this city is not so different from our kingdom.” the Queen shrugged. “You will notice it yourself soon. We were very lucky that we got married before we got a certain social status here. I’m afraid to even imagine what Mr. Gold’s wedding would look like now.”

“You said he was doing the same thing here as in Storybrooke. Where does all this turmoil around you come from?” Regina was surprised. “Are there so few land lords in New York?”

“Well”, she said, “in fact, not only that. Investments, stock speculation, political consultations ... And guess who finances Trenton’s campaign. And since we’re talking about it, meeting the right people with the other right people at a dinner for friends is also a kind of business.”

“And why would he need all this?”, Regina asked in confusion. “Would you get enough money from rent?”

“Because he is bored without magic and needs to keep busy with something and besides magic, the other thing he likes is to make deals.”, the Queen removed a red dress from her coat hanger with bare shoulders. “This one?”

“Try it on.” Regina nodded.

*** 

“Well, just look at them.” Gold nodded to the side, holding his wife by the elbow. “Does he even move away from her?”

“So it's going well.”, she smiled.

“Probably.”, he shrugged. “But it starts to get a little annoying.”

“Why?” Regina was surprised.

“Every time I see Stern next to your half, I can’t help thinking that all this time he has been looking at my wife like that.” He pressed her close to him.

“Is that so?” She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, you are twins.”, Gold answered. “You are exactly the same.”

“Really?” The Queen looked at her husband slyly. “So, are you admiring Miss Mills right now?”

“What?” He was confused. “Of course not! What are you talking about?”

“Well, we're twins.” Regina grinned. “We are exactly the same.”

“Regina, you are completely different.”, her husband protested. “I love you. You are my wife. Why on earth should I admire Miss Mills?”

“That's what I mean.” the Queen smiled.

“Okay, I admit what I said was stupid.” Gold smiled. “I hope you're not going to remember this for another hundred years, the way you usually like to…”

“I'll think about it.” She reached over and kissed him.

***

“Aren't you bored here?” Dr. Stern went to the Mayor of Storybrooke who was sitting with a glass of whiskey at the corner of the living room, away from all the companies.

“I’m having a short break from all of these: Yes? Are you Regina too? And where is Storybrooke? How long had you been the Mayor? Probably, it’s not easy at all, to start all over again in such a big city as New York, after being so many years in such a secluded town.”

“And what bothers you more?” He leaned next to her. “Questions or answers?”

“What do you think?” Miss Mills smiled sourly.

“I think I know the answer.” Stern nodded. “It's always scary to change something. But you came here for some reason.”

“This reason has nothing to do with what is happening now,” Madame Mayor shook her head. “When I came here, I was not planning on staying for long. The decision to stay here was rather sudden for me.”

“And yet you still keep this decision.” Stern smiled. “So there must be a good reason for it.”

“I'm not sure about that.” Regina sighed. “That I made the right decision. Everything was fine in Storybrooke, everything was very simple and sorted out there. But here, everything is different. Indeed, Storybrooke is like one small area of New York. I’m scared; I can’t manage ruling such a huge city. You see, here I need to re-learn everything, start almost from scratch. And here there is a completely different social structure. There I was a Mayor, an indisputable authority. Here I will be the assistant to the Mayor, if our friend becomes the Mayor, of course ...”

“Oh, he will, don’t worry.”, Stern interjected.

“And I need to maintain good relations with hundreds of different of necessary people in order to be able to actualize my ideas.”, Regina continued. “Studying all these social rituals and conventions, compromising all the time, providing a favor for a favor. I'm not used to it. This is difficult for me. Never in my life did I have to integrate into this mutually beneficial system: not when I was the Mayor of Storybrooke, nor when I was ...”, she stopped short. “Generally, never. I'm not at all sure that I like it. And my son hates me ...”

“It's normal, he's a teenager.” Stern shrugged. “My daughter didn’t talk to me for three months after my wife and I divorced. And to her mother even longer. She fled to her grandmother and refused to see us. We were terrified; we didn’t know what to do with her. But time passed, she calmed down and everything was somehow sorted out. Now she lives part time with her mother and her new husband, part time with me and we all are fine. And divorced parents is a harder test for a child than moving. Henry, too, will calm down gradually.”

“No, it's not about moving.” She took a few sips from her glass. “Let's just say that he hates my sister and Gold and it is painful for him that I took their side.”

“Their side on what issue?”, Stern said.

“Nevermind.” She drank some more whiskey. “The bottom line is that I'm not sure everything will be fine with us over time either. Perhaps he will never forgive me.”

“No, that’s impossible.” He took her hand. “You are his mother, he can’t be mad at you forever.”

“You don't know my son.” She wanted to take her hand away but stopped. “But we’ll see. He is now in England, at a boarding school that Gold pays for. And that brings us back to how helpless I feel here. Not only because Gold pays for Henry’s school but because it turned out the savings of the Mayor of Storybrooke are enough only for the cheapest apartment in New York. I have such a beautiful home in Storybrooke. And here I can’t get decent housing without Gold’s help.”

“Knowing him, I don’t think he’s refusing.” Stern shrugged. “So the problem is ...?”

“There was nothing worse in our world than being obligated to Gold.”, Regina answered. “And I'm not sure that anything is different here.”

“You somehow demonize him too much.”, Stern grinned.

“And you just know him too little.”, Regina retorted.

“I know enough of them, him with Regina.” He also drank from his glass. “And I think that you worry in vain.”

“And speaking of him with Regina”, she nodded toward Gold and the Queen who were chatting with one of the guests, “I'm a little shocked. I was sure that she was just like me. That she would be by herself, that she would want to rule New York. And look at her. She is smiling dazzlingly at the guests, standing behind her husband’s shoulder. And I'm not talking about what I see every day at home, living with them.”

“Do you want me to tell you what I see on Fridays when Gold and I play poker and then his wife suddenly rings him up?” Stern laughed. “That's okay, Regina. None of us should be by ourselves. This isn’t shameful or humiliating.”

“Well now, you’re just like Regina and Gold put together.” Regina grimaced.

“Listen, why don’t we run away from here?”, Stern suggested. “I will reserve a table on the roof of the Empire State building, we’ll take a look at your new possessions. They have a spyglass, you can see your new city in detail.”

“No.” Regina recoiled from him. “That wouldn’t be very polite!”

“See? You have already mastered all the local social norms.” He got up and pulled her along. “But it’s all right, they will survive. Come on!”

***

“I’ll never take another step in these shoes anymore.” The Queen put her head on her husband’s shoulder when the door closed for the last guest.

“Get in my arms.” Gold smiled. He carried his wife to the sofa in the living room and after taking off her shoes, he began to slowly massage her feet. “You were dazzling today.” He kissed her ankle.

“We need to call Regina.”, she yawned. “Where did she go?”

“She's fine.”, her husband assured her. “She left with Stern so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Is that so?” The Queen was enthused. “And it doesn't annoy you?” She asked with irony.

“Regina.”, Gold said reproachfully.

“It's hard to resist.”, his wife laughed. “Come on, let Mrs. Savage go to bed. And we should go too.”


	24. Chapter 24

It was still twilight when the alarm clock rang in the bedroom. Rising on his elbow, Gold grabbed the phone on his nightstand, set the alarm to pause and lay down again, hugging the Queen. Holding his wife with her back to him, he buried his nose in her thick brown hair, inhaling her smell.

“What time is it now?” Regina asked sleepily.

“Six a.m.” Gold answered, softly kissing her neck.

“Are you driving so early?” She shook her hips a little, as usual, gladly feeling his morning erection.

“Yes, while there are no traffic jams.” He pressed the Queen tighter on him, holding her hips, kissing her shoulders and shoulder blades.

“Take me with you.” She threw her hair back, extending her neck once more for a kiss.

“To a town where almost everyone wants to see your head on a spike?” Gold grinned. “No. And what, pray you tell me, will Charlotte eat while you are gone? She refuses to eat from a bottle, if you remember.”

“We could have taken her with us.”, the Queen shrugged.

“No.” Gold objected. “Her, definitely not. You know this is dangerous, don’t make things up. And generally, what are we talking about here? I will only leave for two days.”

“And how are we going to sleep these two days?” She turned to her husband and kissed him.

“Great.” Gold smiled. “Plus, you and I need to go to different beds for the next month.” he hugged her, sliding his hands from her shoulders to her hips and back. “It's impossible to sleep with you and not… sleep with you.”

“You could just ask.” The Queen grinned, slipping down under the covers.

“No.” He nevertheless leaned toward her lips. “No, Regina.” After a few moments, he caught her by the shoulders and pulled her up towards him. “I don’t want that.”

“Why?”, his wife said surprised. “Yesterday everything seemed to be fine.”

“That’s not it at all.” He pressed her again on him, kissing her neck. “Can you imagine how I feel, knowing that I can’t give you anything in return?”

“I'm not bargaining with you.”, the Queen smiled. “I'm not one of those simpletons who make deals with the Dark One.”

“You have already made a deal with me.” Gold smiled back. “When you married me. This is a deal, honey! Seriously, Regina, I don't want this substitute. I need you here, the whole thing, in my hands and I need your lips up here, not down there.” He kissed her.

The alarm rang again.

“I have to get up.” Gold stretched, turning over his other side.

“Lie down with me a little more.” The Queen was now pressed against his back, hugging him.

“Nolan will soon start breaking down the door.” He turned off the alarm. “He certainly can't wait.”

“He doesn’t scare me.” She kissed him between the shoulder blades and pressed herself against him again, stroking his stomach slowly, leaving a trail with kisses from his shoulder, along the neck, to the back of his head.”

“Regina.” He caught her hand and lowered it down.

“Who said he doesn’t like substitutes?” The Queen smiled softly, squeezing his hard member.

“Hush.” Her husband reached for a kiss and immediately after that he pushed into her hand with a groan, unable to ignore the pressure in the groin anymore.

“I love you.” She whispered at his ear, licking it.

“And I you.” He squeezed her hand, directing her movements.

Almost reaching the peak, he turned towards her and squeezed her in his arms again, randomly kissing her breasts, shoulders, collarbones, neck and lips, eagerly drawing in her scent, sliding his hands over her body.

“Squeeze your hips.” He whispered at her ear, kissing it.

The Queen twisted her legs and he slid between her hips, continuing to feverishly kissing her, sliding his hands on her back, shoulders, hips, agonizingly squeezing them. Losing control, he bit the delicate skin on her neck and sucked her nipples until milk flowed out of them, increasing the pace. After coming all over her silk skin, he squeezed her for quite some time in his arms, panting, his nose buried in the hollow above the collarbone. He then sat back trying to level his breath.”

“See, substitutes are not so bad.” The Queen kissed his temple.

“Not bad at all.” He wiped sweat from his forehead. The phone rang. “Here is Mr. Nolan.” Gold answered the phone. “Yes, David? Of course ... Yes ... Five minutes ... He is already here.”, he informed Regina and after quickly kissing her, went to the shower.

“Who would doubt it?” She, following his example, got up and put on her bathrobe. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“I don’t have time.” Gold dismissed. “Pour me coffee in a thermos and that's enough.”

“Oh come on, he can wait for an extra ten minutes.”, the Queen said.

“He can, but the traffic – no.” Gold sighed. “The extra ten minutes at home are the extra forty minutes in a traffic jam. I’ll eat somewhere along the way.”

“Okay, as you want.” She went to the kitchen and started making coffee.

***

“Did you get everything?” Standing in the hallway, Regina tied her husband’s tie.

“Well, let's check it out.” He patted his pockets. “Car keys, phone, house keys, credit card, coffee thermos ... Yes, that's it.”

“Did you take the pills?” She finished with the tie and meticulously straightened the knot.

“Why would I need them in Storybrooke?” Gold smiled.

“You have to get to Storybrooke first.”, the Queen retorted.

“That’s quite easy, after I leave the city, I will have to follow a straight line all the time. I won’t get lost, don’t worry.” He hugged his wife and kissed her on the cheek.

“Just take them with you so I can be calm.” She gently freed herself from his hands and went into the kitchen, a minute later returning with a pack of pills cshe put in Gold’s pocket. “I miss you already.” She hugged her husband, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Me too, baby.” He gently stroked her hair.

“Call me when you get there.” She kissed him, snuggling tighter.

A key clicked in the lock, the front door opened and a little disheveled Miss Mills appeared on the threshold. “Oh, well, I'm on time as always.” She grinned, looking at Gold. “By the way, Charming and Neal are sitting on a bench in front of your house if you are not aware.”

“We know.” Gold kissed his wife once more. “Don’t be sad, I’ll be back very soon.”

“Are you okay?” The Mayor asked her sister after Gold went out the door.

“Yes.” she nodded. “And you?”

“Come on, pour me some coffee and I'll tell you everything.” She took off her coat and hung it in the closet.

“Are you sure it's worth telling everything?” The Queen smiled.

“Oh stop it, everything is decent in this story.” The Mayor laughed. “Come on.” She dragged her sister along to the kitchen with her.


	25. Chapter 25

“Why are you so nervous?” Regina got distracted from Gideon, to whom she was reading a book, and stared at her sister who was once again rearranging trinkets on the mantelpiece.

“I am?” She turned around. “What makes you think so?”

“I haven’t noticed any compulsions in you thus far but now you are rubbing this vase for the third time in half an hour. Perhaps you always had just been panicked about dust lying around but I haven’t noticed?”

“Well…” The Queen put the vase in its place. “Maybe I'm a little nervous.”

“Call him again.” Regina put down the book.

“I called five minutes ago.” She nevertheless dialed her husband’s number again. “The phone is still unavailable.” She threw her cell phone onto the sofa. “Even if his battery had died along the way, they should have reached Storybrooke for quite some time now, the phone should have already been working.”

“Maybe he dropped it somewhere along the way.” The Mayor shrugged.

“Yes.” The Queen nodded. “And also forgot my number and that he needs to call me or didn’t find another phone within the whole Storybrooke. Different scenarios are possible. Sure.”

“Stop it.” She went to the Queen and put an arm around her shoulders. “You wind yourself up for nothing. Well, what could ever happen? There must be a reasonable explanation for everything, we just don’t know it yet.”

“Yes, you are probably right.” She gently freed herself from her hands. “I'll go see how Charlotte is doing.”

“Regina, you put her to bed less than an hour ago and listen…” She pointed to the baby monitor. “Do you hear? She is sleeping. Don’t wake the baby up.”

“I won’t wake her, I’ll just take a look to make sure everything is all right.” The Queen headed for the stairs but halfway through a phone call stopped her. “Finally!” She quickly returned to the living room and grabbed the phone that still lying on the couch. “Wait, it's not my own. It’s the landline.” She searched around for the handset.

***

“All elective surgeries for today are canceled; transfer from the intensive care to the wards everyone possible, all free trauma surgeons go to the emergency room right now.” Head physician Portland Mercy stood on the stairs at the hall, towering above a crowd of employees gathering below. “Everyone who has ended the shift, remains. Call a second neurosurgeon. Contact a blood bank: we will need an additional reserve ...”

“What is happening?”, asked the doctor who had just approached his colleague who was already standing in the lobby. “What’s the reason for the emergency?”

“Haven’t you heard?”, he said surprised. “Accident on the 90th highway. The truck driver lost control, the vehicle rolled over, flew across to the oncoming road and crashed onto 7 more cars. Look!” He pointed to the plasma hanging on the wall, where there was a report from the scene. “Everyone is being brought to us as we speak.”

“And what will we do with all of them? Given that we have only four operating rooms and they, judging by the images, are all in critical condition.” He peered at the TV.

“We are the closest.”, his conversationalist shrugged. “Whoever it is possible, we will transfer to the central hospital. We’ll leave the urgent ones for ourselves. Put your gloves on, the first ambulances are already there.”

Everything in the hall was set in motion. The examination rooms were filled with teams of doctors.

“What do we have here?” “Nine on the Glasgow scale, multiple penetrating wounds from glass fragments, a hemothorax caused by a chest injury from a blunt object.”

“And what's that?”

“Wiper. Fragment of a windscreen wiper."

“I need an ultrasound ... Look.”

“This is bad. We can't pull this wiper off so he doesn't bleed to death. It is a millimeter away from the portal vein.”

“Have. To.”

“What? Sir? Can you hear me?”

“You have to ...”

“Sir, do you know where you are?”

“I don’t care where I ... I need ... Regina ...”

“Is that your wife? Was she with you?”

“In New York ...”

“Is the operating room ready? Great, we're going. And call Adams and Ranger, I won’t approach the portal vein alone.”

“Any relatives reported?”

“How should I know? Let someone who has time for this do it ...”

***

“Yes?” The Queen finally found the receiver and answered the call. “Yes, Mrs. Gold speaking. What?... No, wait... When?... That is?... I'm on my way.” She dropped the phone.

“What happened?” The Mayor asked anxiously.

“What? I ... I need to go.”, the Queen replied perplexed. “I need to go to Portland.” She quickly went out into the hallway and put on her down jacket.

“Regina, what's going on?” The Mayor caught up with her and took her hand.

“Look after the children.”, the Queen replied, patting her on the shoulder, looking straight through her.

“Regina!” She grabbed her elbows and shook her a little. “What happened?”

“An accident on the highway ... They are still operating on him ... They don’t know if he’ll stay alive ... I need to go.”, the Queen said spasmodically, trying to free herself from her hands.

“Wait.” She tightened her grip on her sister. “You can't go anywhere now. What will happen to Charlotte? You need to take her with you. And I’ll come with you too.”

“No, don't.” She again sluggishly pushed the Mayor away. “It is because of you ... And Henry ... because of you ... He would not have been there if he hadn’t tried to re-establish your life ... And now he ... He can ...”

“Regina!” The Mayor picked up her rapidly turning pale, suffocating sister. “Honey, everything will be fine.” She carefully lowered her down to the floor.

“You don't know that.” the Queen breathed, squeezing her sister's hand. “Sorry, I didn't mean to say all this. I just ...”

“Regina?” She shook her shoulders again. “Good lord!”

She ran her hands through her hair, tucking locks behind her ears, found her phone in her pocket and dialed Stern's number. “David!” The Mayor breathed out with relief when he picked up the phone. “We need you, right now, please. Gold is in a hospital in Portland, his condition is not good. Regina’s either... I don’t know ... She is unconscious ... Please come!”

Ten minutes later, the man was already bringing the Queen to her senses.

“David.” She opened her eyes, reaching out to him. “How good it is that you’re here.”

“Don't scare us like that anymore.” He smiled, hugging the Queen.

“We need to go ...”, she began.

“I know.” Stern interrupted. “I'll go with you.”

“Are you sure she can go anywhere?”, the Mayor asked anxiously.

“Sure.”, the doctor nodded. “She needs to be there. She will be all right, trust me. Pack Charlotte’s things and let's go.”, he said to the Queen. “I was thinking of buying plane tickets, but the next available flight was late at night. We will get there faster by car.”

“Can't you get us a helicopter?” The Queen stared at David intensely. “Maybe a medical service helicopter?”

“No,” he shook his head, “this is not an option. We will need to wait for the results of the operation, and then agree on the transfer to New York, and also justify the need for using medical aviation. It will be time consuming and almost one hundred percent to no avail. It’s easier to take care of everything on the spot.”

“It’ll take us around five hours to go by car.”, the Queen said. “If he ...” She gasped again. “... Dies ... He should not die alone.”

“Regina, he won't die.” Stern hugged the Queen again. “Everything will be fine.”


	26. Chapter 26

“Mrs. Gold?” A woman in blue scrubs approached the Queen who was sitting at the waiting room of the hospital.

“Yes.” Regina answered quietly, continuing to mechanically sway her daughter in her arms.

“I'm Dr. Adams.”, the woman introduced herself. “I’m sorry to make you wait. Today we have an emergency; our administrators don’t have time to keep up with everything.”

“How is he?”, the Queen asked tensely, finally raising her eyes up to her conversationalist.

“Your husband is in intensive care. He’s lost a lot of blood but now he is stable, he is already breathing, he is conscious and I can tell you there is no danger to his life. You can see him. I will accompany you.”

“He is alive.” Regina breathed, clutching her daughter tighter to her and resting her forehead on the baby’s shoulder.

“You see, everything will be fine.” Stern, sitting next to the Queen, hugged her. “Are you his attending physician?” He turned to Dr. Adams.

“Not me. Dr. Ranger.”, the woman replied. “He was the leading surgeon in the operation.”

“I would like to speak with him.” the man nodded. “Where can I find him?”

“And you? ..” His conversationalist hesitated.

“Dr. Stern. I am a family friend.”

“He's somewhere in the emergency room.”, she pointed toward the ward. “You can ask one of the nurses, they will help you find him. Mrs. Gold?” She turned again to the Queen. “Shall we go?”

“Yes!” She jumped to her feet.

“Let me take Charlotte for now.” Stern suggested.

“Thank you.” Regina gave the girl to him and rushed after Adams.

“Well, let's go look for Ranger.” He gently shook the little girl who was fussing around in his arms. “He used to be my classmate. He hated me at medical school though, which slightly complicates our task.”

***

Entering the room, she almost burst into tears again, seeing Gold lying with his eyes closed, sensors hanging on him, droppers jammed in both arms. She quietly went to the bed, sat to the chair next to it and carefully took his hand.

“You are here.” Gold smiled without opening his eyes.

“And you are here.” She kissed his hand and pressed her cheek against it. “I was afraid I wouldn't see you alive anymore. When they called me, they simply told me that they couldn’t promise anything. And after that, it was already impossible to get through to the hospital or my calls went to a nurse who knew nothing. And all five hours on the way here, I knew only that they couldn’t promise anything. They were the scariest five hours of my life.”

“Well no darling, you won’t get rid of me so quickly.” He opened his eyes and looked at his wife. “We made a deal, it's forever.”

“Forever.” Regina smiled, kissing his hand again. “How do you feel?”

“Fine.” He closed his eyes again. “And when this room stops spinning at such a speed, I will be just perfect. Listen, where is Charlotte? You didn’t leave her at home, did you?”

“No”, the Queen replied, “she is with David.”

“Yes? Is Stern here?” Her husband was delighted.

“Of course.”, she nodded. “He came with me. Now he is negotiating a transfer to New York, to his clinic. We will take you home.”

“That's good.”, Gold said thoughtfully. “Stern is what I need. Although the return to New York will have to wait.”

“What?” Regina was confused.

“We still need to get to Storybrooke first.”, he answered.

“Are you out of your mind?” She recoiled from her husband. “Or did you hit your head too? Forget about Storybrooke! You can't go anywhere now. You can’t even open your eyes.”

“Well, actually I can.” Gold objected. “It just makes me nauseous when I do it.”

“Storybrooke will wait!” The Queen soared, jumping up from the chair. “You are unwell, you need peace. People have remained under sleeping curses for centuries and nothing has happened to them. Snow White will be like new any moment the curse is lifted. They will all wait! In a couple of months, when Charlotte can do without me for a while, I will do everything myself. They all must have the patience to wait!”

“Regina, don't yell at me.”, he said calmly.

“I don’t yell at you!”, Regina exclaimed. “I'm just yelling.”, she added more calmly.

“It's not about Snow White.”, Gold continued. “And not about your curse. It’s about her son, Neal. He won’t survive here, in a world without magic. He is in a deep coma from which he can no longer come back. His injuries are incompatible with life.”

“How do you know this?” She sat down again at the chair next to him.

“From Nolan.”, he answered.

“Really?!” Regina asked irritated. “Has he already managed to come to you and demand that you immediately run to his aid? Despite your condition?”

“Regina, he doesn’t demand anything.”, Gold sighed. “He came because I'm the only one he knows here, because he does not know what to do, because he has already lost his second child and, believe it or not, because he wanted to know how I’m feeling. Out of all of us, he was the only one who got off with slight injuries. He feels guilty for everything. He came to me because he has nowhere else to go.”

“But why should it be you?”, the Queen asked calmer. “Stern can arrange for the boy to be sent to Storybrooke, and there let the Blue Fairy deal with it, she also has magic.”

“Fairy magic can't do anything, he needs black magic. His brain is already dead and everything else dies every hour he remains on life support. A magic wand will not help here. It takes the strength of all the Dark Ones to bring him back to life, even in the world of magic.”

“There must be another option.” She leaned toward him. “I won't let you go to Storybrooke now.”

“It's less than an hour's drive there.” He looked at her again. “Stern will take us all there somehow. In Storybrooke, I will be in perfect condition, as you know. And then, when I’m done with Neal and your curse, we will return to New York as you and David planned. Everything will be fine, Regina.”

“And if not?” Regina touched her husband's shoulder with her forehead. “If this one hour is important? Think of our children.”

“That's exactly what I’m thinking of.” He stroked her hair. “I feel sorry for Charming and Snow, but they come second. When the Prince realizes he won’t have anyone left but Emma, it will not end well. I must help him first of all for the sake of our family. In order for our children to live in peace.”

“And how are you going to explain to Stern everything he’ll see in Storybrooke?” She raised her head, looking at her husband.

“Regina, it’s really bad for you to get nervous.” Gold smiled. “We're going to Storybrooke, a city filled with magic. He won’t remember anything after we leave it. He will only wake up on his way to New York, confident that we have just left Portland Mercy.”

“Fine. And how are you going to explain to him the need to travel to Storybrooke now?” Regina did not let up.

“I won’t.” Gold shrugged.

***

“How are you doing?” Sometime later, Stern looked into the room.

“You are here, you tell me.” Gold smiled. “It can’t be for nothing that you spent so much time in the staff room or wherever you were there all this time.”

“Well, everything is much better than I expected, I don’t even have to redo anything.” He went into the room and gave Regina her daughter. “I can’t say that Dr. Ranger is a nice person but he is a really good doctor. He had golden hands since the first year of our internship. I looked through all your X-rays and ultrasound images and, you know, even I couldn’t have fixed the crushed bone so gracefully. Not to mention the fragmented wiper.”

“Do I detect jealousy in your voice?” Gold asked insinuatingly.

“Exactly that.” Stern confirmed. “I saw the pictures before the operation, and I wouldn’t have taken it out. Ranger and I competed since the first year of medical school, and now, twenty-odd years later, he made short work of it.”

“Don’t worry, everyone was certain they wouldn’t take it out.” Gold reassured him. “But in the end everything worked out. So I think you would have succeeded as well. Plus, you are the head physician and he is not.”

“That’s a good point.” Stern smiled. “We agreed on everything with him and with the head physician. I'm taking you to New York. And they even gave us a helicopter, as you dreamed of.”, he nodded to the Queen.

“That's good but before that; we need to check in a small town not far from here, Storybrooke.” Gold told him. “So the helicopter to New York will have to be postponed.”

“What?” Stern didn’t understand. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get it?”

“I can imagine. Still, we need to get to Storybrooke. And we also need to take Neal Nolan and his father with us. The father is fine, but a mobile intensive care unit is needed for Neal: he is on life support.”

“Well, okay, I don’t understand anything.” Stern sighed. “For starters, who are all these people?”

“They are an acquaintance of mine and his son, they were with me when the accident occurred. The boy needs to be transported to Storybrooke and I need to go with him.”

“Why?”, Stern said.

“I will explain to you when we arrive in town.” Gold answered evasively. “Believe me, it will be interesting.”

“Again, why?”

“Because if I try to explain anything to you now, you will decide that I'm not in my right mind.”

“Is that so?” Stern looked at Regina.

“He's in his right mind.” she nodded. “And it’s impossible to out argue him. Please David, do as he asks.”

“Well, you both seem pretty weird, but that's not the problem.” He walked around the room. “The problem is, how to find a way to rearrange everything with the leadership of the hospital.”

“Use the magic of your checkbook.” Gold advised. “I would suggest mine, but I have no idea where it is. In any case, I will compensate you when we return home, so do not skimp. Get Regina on a plane to New York, and let's go.”

***

“I can see the Storybrooke sign.” Dr. Stern sat next to Gold in one of two ambulances headed to the town. “Would you like to tell me everything already?”, he asked.

“As soon as we cross the town line.” Gold assured him.

“That principled?” Stern grinned.

“Yes.”, he confirmed. “And you will soon understand why.”

They spent the next few minutes in silence. And then finally crossed the town line. As soon as that happened, Gold dissolved in a whiff of purple smoke and after a few seconds reappeared, already in a suit.

“That feels so good.” He squared his shoulders, sitting on a gurney across from Stern.

“What ...” The doctor winced.

“See? I told you: you will decide I’m not in my right mind.” His conversationalist smiled at him.

“Seems like it’s me who’s not in my right mind.”, Stern muttered. “At the least that’s the only reasonable explanation for what I see now. I am hallucinating.”

“Don’t worry, you’re fine.” Gold winked at him, disappearing again in whiffs of smoke.

Both ambulances stopped, frozen on the go. Materializing on the spot, Gold gathered a golden wave of magic at his fingertips and slowly passed his hands over the lying child. The boy coughed, trying to spit out an oxygen tube. Gold waved his hand, and the pipe disappeared. The child inhaled sharply and opened his eyes.

“Neal!” The Prince who sitting next to him, rushed to his son.

The boy looked around bewildered.

“Is he going to be all right?” Charming turned to Gold.

“Yes.” he nodded. “But I'm afraid he is now forever bound to the magical world. In a world without magic, all this doesn’t work and he still won’t be able to survive there.”

“It doesn't matter.” The Prince hugged his son. “He’s going to be alive in our world - that’s enough. Thank you!”

“Come to the shop tomorrow night,” Gold recalled. “The potion for Snow White will be ready so you can wake her.”

“Thank you!” the Prince repeated as he was getting out of the ambulance with his son in his arms.

As soon as they got out, the ambulance drove outside the Storybrooke’s town line towards Portland. The second ambulance stood still.

“Well, ready for an explanation?” Gold looked into the vehicle.

“Who the hell are you?” Stern recoiled from him.

“First of all, I am your friend; there’s no need to be afraid of me.” he smiled.

“And what happened to him?” The doctor nodded at the ambulance driver, who was standing still.

“We don’t need him now, let him rest.” Gold answered. “We’ll wake him on our way back to Portland.”

“And why didn't you do the same to me?” Stern asked perplexed.

“I planned to.” he nodded. “Or erase your memories. But you know, I think you should have a choice. Maybe, you'll want to know who Regina and I really are.”

“What kind of place is this?” Stern got out of the car. “Something like Narnia?”, he asked with irony.

“Of course not.” Gold grimaced. “This is Storybrooke, a magical city Regina created.”

“Oh so that’s it, you just wanted to show off your wife’s abilities to someone?” The doctor laughed nervously.

“Maybe. Maybe I'm sad and lonely here and I need a friend.”

***

“It's just unbelievable!” Stern wandered around Gold's shop, looking at magical artifacts. “Like I’m in a fantasy novel. Harry Potter or something like that.”

It had been dark out for a long time.

“Harry Potter is complete nonsense.” Gold mixed another ingredient into the potion. “Real magic of all time has been compiled here.”

“Is this ...?” He turned around the old goblet in his hands.

“That’s the Holy Grail.” the shopkeeper nodded. “And believe me, this isn’t the rarest thing here. Are you still thinking about Harry Potter?” He smiled at Stern.

“Perhaps not.” He put the goblet back in its place. “I’m thinking about what made you leave here for our boring ordinary world.”

“Your world is not at all boring.” Gold objected. “In contrast to this dull town, which we both have long been tired of.”

“Stop it.” Stern grimaced. “In our world you would have to go through a month of rehabilitation after the operation and here you simply snapped your fingers and you are already in perfect condition. I would give anything to have such abilities.”

“Well, a month of rehabilitation is still waiting for me.” he smiled. “Magical healings don’t work outside of Storybrooke.” His phone rang. “Yes darling?” His voice changed subtly as he answered his wife's call. “Of course, everything is fine ... Are you home already? .. Stop worrying ... Go to bed, all three of you. And turn on the speakerphone, I’ll read to you. ” He went to the back room, clicking his fingers along the way, after which a book appeared in his hand.

***

“I still don't understand it.” Stern poured himself some more wine.

He and Gold were dining at the only restaurant in Storybrooke, “Granny’s”.

“Don't you miss this world, your abilities? You really don’t want to come back even here and now?”

“Here and now, I want my lasagna cooked by Regina and not this freshly thawed rubbish.” Gold put down his plate and waved to the waitress to bring the bill. “Then some cognac and an hour to sleep. And for Regina to wake me with a kiss. All this would be very useful here and now.”

“I'm serious.” Stern smiled. “And Dark Ones don't need to sleep, do they?”

“Not needed.” Gold confirmed. “So here, as you can see, I am deprived even of such a simple joy. But that’s the real magic: to feel the kiss of your wife through the warm sleepy haze. Those who haven’t had insomnia for three hundred years, of course, cannot understand it."

“What are you talking about?” the man laughed. “Are you giving up all this for the opportunity to merely sleep?”

“I’m giving all this up for the sake of having the life that I always wanted.”, his conversationalist answered calmly. “There, Regina was able to give birth to my daughter which would have been impossible in this world. And I even want one more. What magic can compare with your child’s smile? With the miracle of a new life?”

“But you can all come back here, together.”, Stern said uncertainly. “Can’t you?”

“I don't want this.” He twisted the wedding ring on his finger.

“Why?” Stern was confused. “You are a powerful dark magician here. Your possibilities are almost limitless. You are immortal. And you refuse it?”

“I am immortal.” Gold agreed. “Unlike my wife.”

“I don’t believe that the greatest Dark One cannot influence this with the help of magic.”

“And yet, I can’t.”, the magician assured him.

“Well, you know, a new wife can come with time.” Stern shrugged.

“No.” He looked warily at his conversationalist. ”A wife is destiny. Whoever “comes with time” is not a wife. I lived three hundred unhappy years with various “come with time” women, until fate bestowed the one upon me. I don’t want to bury Regina. And I will not.”

“Really? So you’ve lived three hundred years to come to the conclusion that the meaning of life is a woman?”

“You know, Miss Mills and you are a great couple.” Gold grinned. “However, you will someday come to this conclusion yourself. Love is the most powerful magic of all. There is a hundred times more magic in the morning kiss of a woman who loves you than in this whole town. I don’t need immortality. I need Regina, until the end of my life. Let's go.” he paid the bill for both of them. “The potion should be ready by now. And it’s time for us to go back home.”

***

“What have you decided?” Gold laid again on a gurney in the ambulance.

“This whole story is too crazy to remember.” Stern fixed the catheter he was holding and put the dropper filled with plasma and pain medication in him once more.

“As you wish.” He snapped his fingers, taking a bottle of potion midair. “Drink it when we find ourselves in the helicopter.”

“Will it work?” He put the vial in his pocket. “You said magic doesn't work outside of Storybrooke.”

“Not magic in general, but some magical artifacts, yes. It will work.” Gold assured him.

The magician waved his hand and the ambulance drove itself to the town limit. When they crossed it, the driver woke up.

“David.” Gold closed his eyes in pain.

“I know.” The doctor took his hand. “Hold on for a while, the morphine will work any minute now.”

“You'll take me back to her for sure, won’t you?” He grabbed his hand.

“Without a doubt.” Stern replied. “You are going to live many more years with Regina. I'll make sure of it.”


	27. Chapter 27

“Get up.” Regina leaned over to Gold and kissed his nose.

“What for?” He asked sleepily, turning away from his wife and wrapping himself more tightly in a blanket.

“Because it’s already mid-afternoon.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You need to go for a walk at least.”

“Open the window and we’ll pretend that I am already walking.” Gold yawned.

“Well, it’s impossible sleeping all day long.” Regina pulled off the blanket from him a bit and kissed him again, this time on the neck.

“It is possible, if I really want to.”, he shrugged a little.

“You know, the more you sleep, the more you’ll want to.”

“And the less I sleep, the more I’ll want to. A vicious cycle.” Gold yawned again.

“Get up!” Regina didn’t give up. “Stern agreed to let you go home only on the condition that we follow all his recommendations to the letter. Amongst which are walks in the park and swimming.”

“Right here, in the Park’s reservoir? Or in the neighboring East River?”, he specified. “I have no strength for that.”

“Seriously, Rumple.” the Queen frowned. “You can't lie in bed all day. David said that for the lungs to smooth over after the injury in order for you to breathe normally, you need movement. A lot of movement and a lot of fresh air. Without it, the recovery will be delayed and we still don’t know what complications await you if you don’t move ... You could at least not snore when I’m talking to you.” She sighed, rubbing her husband’s shoulder.

“Hm?” Gold opened his eyes.

“Get up the nice way or I’ll pour cold water on you.” She smiled.

“Evil.” Her husband sighed.

“Well, people didn’t call me “the Evil Queen” for nothing.” Regina laughed.

***

“We should have taken the children with us; it would be somewhat more fun.”

They walked slowly along the alley of Central Park, Regina being half a step ahead and Gold leaning on her arm.

“Aren’t you happy with me?” Raising her eyebrows, the Queen turned to her husband. “Children will have a great walk with the nanny.”

“Well, yes, I’m having a great walk with the nanny as well.”, he nodded.

“Stop it.” Regina stroked his hand. “When were we still able to walk in the park together, without children? When was the last time we did this? Somewhere around never? It’s not so bad: having some time for ourselves.”

“Perhaps yes,” Gold agreed. “Just come on a little slower,” he stopped, covering his eyes, and squeezed her hand harder.

“What's the matter?” The Queen asked fearfully.

“Nothing ... My head is spinning.” He took deep breaths several times.

“Okay then, let's sit down somewhere.” She looked around for a bench.

“Not necessary.” Gold waved off. “Already passing.”

“Are you sure?” The Queen looked tensely at her husband.

“Yes, it's already over.” He let go of her hand. “It's okay.”

“Let's take some rest regardless.” She looked at the electronic bracelet in her hand. “We have already walked more than two thousand steps, this is not bad at all.”

***

“You know, you'd better leave for a month or two.”

They had just returned home. Gold was sitting on the bed in their bedroom, leveling his breath. Regina, squatting in front of him, was untying the laces on his sneakers.

“As in?” The Queen was bewildered. “Where to?”

“I don't know, at the beach.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Take the children, the nanny, your sister with you and go to the island. It’s just not too hot there now. Regina, I don’t want you to see me like that.”

“You’re looking pretty good.” She looked up at him, laying her chin on his knee. “Although you're a little pale, of course. But I think this is normal for a person who has recently received a few liters of blood.”

“Stop it.” Gold grimaced. “I'm serious.”

“And I'm serious.” Regina smiled softly. “What happened? What came over you?”

“All this infuriates me.” He gently stroked her cheek and pulled her chin up a little. “Just look at me. I can't even tie my shoelaces myself. Climb the stairs without your help. And how pleasant it probably is, walking in the park: from bench to bench. Aren’t you sick of this still? I already am.”

“You feel sick because you haven’t eaten anything since morning.”, the Queen tried again to change the subject.

“Stop doing that!” Gold said irritably. “Stop fooling around!”

“Rumple.” She sat down beside him and hesitantly touched his shoulder. “Everything is fine. I am glad that you are home with me. The rest is not important. You are in a bad mood because you feel unwell. But everything will pass soon.”

“Seriously, Regina, leave.” Gold continued, just as annoyed. “I don't want you to be here right now. Just so you have to babysit me.”

“Listen, I understand how difficult it is for you in this world.” The Queen closed her eyes, leaning against her husband. “It's hard to feel vulnerable again, at times weak, in need of someone ... And you got stuck here because of Charlotte and me ...”

“Regina.”, he hugged his wife, “I'm not talking about that at all. I just want to protect you ...”

“From what?” Regina interrupted him. “From a life with you? But this is exactly what I want. I am your wife. Do not push me away.”

“Honey, I don't push you away.” Gold kissed her temple. “I simply want you to do what’s best.”

“I'm perfectly fine with you.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “And I don't care if you can tie the shoelaces.”

“For how long?” He buried his nose in her hair, closing his eyes.

“You know, I think you expect way too much from yourself, given that you were discharged from intensive care only a few days ago.” The Queen stroked his arm. “And you wind yourself up too much because of this.”

“That's not the point.” He caught her hand and kissed it. “You're right, I’m really not used to feeling vulnerable, it scares me.”

“Do you want to go back?” Regina cautiously looked at her husband.

“No.” Gold shook his head. “I don't want to. You and I have already discussed this. I want to stay here. I want more children. But for several days now I can’t stop thinking that it’s too irresponsible, that one day the weakness will cease to be temporary. Now I am still in force but what will happen in ten, in twenty years? It is so insignificant by the standards of our world and yet so monstrous by the standards of the local world. One day you will wake up next to an old man who won’t be able to take care of you.”

“Well, then I will take care of you.” She hugged her husband. “Rumple, I love you. From the first day we met, I knew you were the one I wanted to live my whole life with. I don't need you to be a knight in shining armor. I just want you to be around. That's enough.”

“Perhaps that’s only what you think now.” He smiled sadly.

“Yes, anything is possible.”, the Queen agreed. “It’s also possible that I learned how to do the injections by practicing on myself all day and persuaded David to let you come home simply because you are a burden to me now and instead of babysitting you here, I dream of flying to San Bartholomew and dive into the ocean already.”

“You practiced on yourself?” Gold looked at his wife in amazement. “Have you gone crazy?”

“There were no other volunteers”, Regina shrugged, “and it is impossible to feel the correct infusion rate by practicing on a model. But now I'm full of vitamins. And talking about injections…”, she looked at her watch, “Lie down, it's time to inject our beloved anti-inflammatory.”

“The one that feels like broken glass under the skin?” He nonetheless lay down. “Listen, can't I just drink the ampoule? Does it really matter how it gets inside?”

“Don't be capricious.” She took out a syringe and an ampoule from the nightstand. “Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better afterward?”

“No.” Gold laughed. “We can do without erotic games. Either way, we both won’t be able to carry on with them.”

“As you wish.” Regina shrugged, drawing medicine into the syringe. “Take your pants off.”

“See how sad it all is?” He sighed. “Could I have ever thought the day would come when my wife would ask me to take off my pants only because it was time to give me an injection?”

“Do not delay the inevitable.”, the Queen grinned. “Definitely don’t want me to kiss it?” She asked, taking an injection.

“You’re joking again…” Gold looked at her in a false reproachful way. “Are you sure you don't want to go rest? Break free, get some tan? What’s the joy in babysitting me all day long?”

“A great joy!” She leaned over and kissed him. “You are alive, you are at home - what could be better than that? Stop torturing yourself. And let's eat something already. It’s 2 p.m. and I can’t persuade you to eat something since morning.”

“Well, if by food you mean again some boiled chicken mashed with cauliflower, then I pass.” Gold grimaced.

“It's not so bad.” Regina shrugged. “Yesterday, I ate everything with pleasure, for example.”

“You just couldn't see your face at that moment.”, her husband grinned.

“You are just like Gideon.” the Queen sighed. “He also needs to be fed his mashed chicken with songs and dances. Perhaps you want some candy too?”

“No, I don’t want candy.” He got comfortable in bed. “I want a steak of marbled beef, well-done, crusty, with wine sauce. And to the side, some grilled vegetables or potatoes baked with rosemary. I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet. And some whiskey.”

“Perhaps I should leave you alone.”, she patted her husband's hand. “You and your fantasies. Here.” She took a napkin from the nightstand. “Take a handkerchief. I can do without saliva dripping onto the pillow.”

“Go away, you Evil Queen.” Gold grinned.

“But I will be back soon and I will feed it to you with a spoon, if you refuse eating it by yourself. Take that into account!” The Queen looked sternly at her husband.

“Are you afraid I’ll lose some of my extra weight?” He asked with irony.

“I’m afraid that tomorrow I won’t be able to get you out of bed at all if you only sleep all the time and eat nothing.”

Downstairs, a door slammed shut and voices were heard in the hallway.

“Oh, and here are the children.” The Queen went to the door and listened. “Now you’ll be able to do some useful things. He’s been longing for your attention since morning. Three ... two ... one ...”, she counted slowly.

Gideon rushed into the bedroom.

“Dad!” He quickly climbed onto the bed. “Are you awake?”

“Well, as you see, I am indeed.” Gold smiled. “Hi baby.”

“Just don’t jump on dad, okay?” Regina put the little boy on her half of the bed. “Sit down here, next to him and dad will read to you.” She took a book from a shelf and handed it to Gold.

“What kind of fairy tale do you want?”, he asked the boy.

“A scary one!” He made big eyes, clinging to his father.

“A scary one is still around the corner for us today.” he grinned. “Mom has already cooked chicken and broccoli. We better read something funnier.” He flipped through a few pages. “Well, this one doesn’t seem bad...”

“You see how useful you are?” His wife winked at him. “We all need you.”

“Get out.” Gold answered kindly. “I realize already it’s impossible to talk to you about anything seriously. Mockingbird.”

“Whatever you say.”, the Queen sighed. “But you still love me.”

“That's for sure.”, he agreed. “I love you to bits. Now get out and don't bother us while we read!”

“Already gone.”, the Queen laughed.

“Once upon a time...”, he began.

Regina looked at them for a while, standing in the doorway. Then she went downstairs.

“Thank you, Mrs. Savage.” She smiled at the nanny, who had carefully undressed Charlotte. “You are free for today. I’ll be waiting for you the same time tomorrow.”

“As you please.”, the nanny nodded. “How is Mr. Gold feeling?”

“Much better already.” The Queen took her daughter in her arms. “Thank you for worrying.”

“It’s sincere.” The woman smiled at her. “You know, I have worked in many, let's say, wealthy families. And usually it is not so easy. But your family is special. I want you all to be just fine.”

“We are.” Regina nodded. “And I know we will be.”


	28. Chapter 28

Upon entering the house, Mayor Mills quickly slipped off her shoes and went into the living room, glancing along the way into the dining room and kitchen.

“Regina, is everything all right?” She called to the Queen, who was climbing the stairs.

“Yes, why are you asking?” She turned around. “Hello!” She smiled at her sister.

“I saw Stern's car in the yard.” Regina nodded toward the front door.

“He works with us as a physiotherapist.”, the Queen grinned. “So you're worried in vain, although it's nice.”

“Really?”, Miss Mills said surprised. “Is he lacking money with the salary of the head physician or staff?”

“He has everything but he is worried.” The mistress of the house went down to the Mayor. “Since he succumbed to my persuasion and discharged Gold a couple of weeks earlier than he originally planned, he now wants to be in control of everything. So he spends the evenings with us.”

“Why have I never seen him?” Regina was surprised.

“It happens when you opted out of technical supervision services and took it upon yourself to supervise the repairs at your new apartment, disappearing there for days.” the Queen spread her hands. “How is it going by the way?”

“Better not ask.”, her sister dismissed. “I'll go crazy with this apartment soon. I couldn’t choose a damn bathtub for a week, and now that I bought it and they put it on, I realized that it looked nothing like what I’ve imagined it at all. And now everything needs to be redone! In Storybrooke, everything was simple: the house was created by the curse. I got it the way it is, with all the content. I haven’t been prepared for a situation in which I need to choose every little thing myself. How can this be done at all? How did you deal with this? You also remade parts of this house.”

“No way.” Regina shrugged. “Gold was doing everything here, I only roughly described what I wanted to look like in the end. So he got frustrated a lot because it was quite difficult to understand my abstract ideas. Even for my usual self.”

“Well, of course. I shouldn’t even have asked.”, the Mayor sighed. “You know, I should have bought a finished apartment with furniture, move in and live there. I would change a couple of paintings, maybe the curtains - and that would be all. Everything would be fine. Now I’m going to constantly think “that here” and “that over there” and “here it could have been done not like that but some other way” or a thousand more. Do you know how many different wall decoration options were offered to me, for example? About a million. How can you choose anything like that?”

“Let's go.” The Queen took her by the shoulders, nodding toward the kitchen. “You need to restore your balance.”

***

“Thank you for bringing my phone, I knew I could lean on you.” Stern grinned good-naturedly, peering into the kitchen. “Oh, hi!” He nodded to the Mayor, who was sitting at the table across from her sister, with a glass of whiskey and a plate of fish souffle.

“Sorry, I was distracted.” The Queen handed him the telephone which she had previously twirled in her hands. “Have you finished torturing my husband?”

“Yes, for today.” Stern nodded.

“Tomorrow at the same time?” She said.

“Tomorrow I'm taking him to poker at Trenton’s.” He read through his messages.

“What?” The Queen said in amazement. “What poker?”

“Our usual on Fridays.” He put the phone in his pocket.

“Which of you became insane? Or did you both?” Regina asked irritably. “Have you seen him at all? What do you mean poker? And you let him? Do you think he can already participate in your stupid gatherings?”

“We're still talking about your husband, right?” Stern sat down at the table next to her. “So we both understand that words such as “allowed” or “forbidden” have no place here?”, he asked. “He needs to be there tomorrow. Why? Find out from him. I don’t believe there is anything terrible in it, it will be useful for him to leave the house once again.”

“It will be useful for him to take a walk around the park once again, not sitting all evening in Trenton’s stuffy office.”, the Queen retorted.

“Tell him that.”, Stern shrugged.

“I will do so.”, she assured him, leaving the kitchen.

“I see your tastes are very singular.” Stern smiled, looking at Regina’s plate.

“It's not my tastes.” She picked up another piece of boiled fish with a fork. “It’s just that Regina doesn’t cook anything that Gold can’t eat and she also doesn’t allow others to do so, for the house not to be smelling of normal human food.”

“Harsh.” David cringed.

“We all know how convincing Regina can be.” the Mayor smiled. “You too, I see, yielded to her arguments and now work on house calls.”

“If you're talking about Gold’s hospital discharge, then it wasn’t due to Regina’s arguments.” He stood up and poured himself a cup of coffee. “It was a medically sound and logically correct decision. During the time he spent in the hospital, he exhausted himself and everyone around him. Everything and everyone was bad: from the attending physician to the dishwashers in the hospital kitchen.”

“It was after that when you made a medically sound decision.” Miss Mills nodded.

“You're ironic in vain.” Stern answered calmly. “The patient’s emotional background is very important for recovery. It is impossible to make a person stand on their feet while being in constant stress. He is very attached to Regina. Without her, everything was not right. The nurses did everything badly, messily, painfully. From some pills “his head hurt”, from others “he got sick”; the tea was too hot, the broth was too cold, the dishes were poorly washed, the linen was badly ironed ... As a result, there were no positive dynamics around. At home, he is calm and satisfied with everything and things are going smoothly, so don’t underestimate Regina’s healing effect.”

“Okay, I understand, they are both weird.”, the Mayor waved him off. “And you owe me dinner, since I am now forced to eat soufflé from boiled fish without a gram of salt. You must somehow compensate for this.”

“With pleasure!”, Stern said inspired. “Throw the fork and let’s go.”

“No, the fish is enough for today.” Miss Mills smiled. “Let’s on Saturday.”

“Agreed.” David held out his hand, and she shook it.

***

“Are you really going to Trenton tomorrow?”, the Queen asked from the threshold, entering the bedroom. “And why am I hearing this from David?”

“Because I figured it out myself just a couple of minutes ago.” Gold looked at his wife over his glasses. “Wait a bit.” He continued typing a message on the phone.

“Very interesting.” She leaned against the door, arms folded across her chest.

“There will be one acquaintance of Howard there that we may need.” He added, taking off his glasses and putting them on the nightstand along with the phone. “He rarely comes to New York, so I need to seize the moment.”

“We – as in "you and Trenton" or we – as in "me and you”?”, Regina inquired.

“Me and you.” Gold clarified. “Come here.” He patted the blanket next to him.

“I already do not like all this.” The Queen tensed. “Did something happen?” She sat on the edge of the bed.

“No.” He pulled her close to him, lying down next to him. “And I don’t think it will. A few days ago, Snow White called me ...” He hugged his wife, placing her head on his shoulder.

“Seriously?!” She snapped, interrupting. “I hope only to thank you and ask about your health, right?”

“Hush, don’t make such sudden movements, it hurts me when you jump up like that.” Gold pulled her back to him.

“I'm sorry.” Regina carefully laid her head on his shoulder. “And what does she want?”

“In the absence of your half, she is acting as Mayor of Storybrooke. She sounds about the same as Regina did when she first arrived here. But unlike Regina, she is not afraid to start a war with me. As the Mayor, she’s planning to ruin our lives as much as possible and she doesn’t care what will happen to herself as a result of this war.” He slowly stroked her hand.

“I told you.”, the Queen said in annoyance. “I said that you shouldn’t meet those people’s demands. None of them will ever repay you for your good attitude. It was necessary to leave them both under a curse! And enchant the city line so that no one could leave this damned little town! But it’s not too late to fix it. Looks like it's time for me to visit Storybrooke as well.”

“Well, do you really think I didn’t do this after leaving the city last time?” Gold smiled, kissing his wife with ease at her temple. “I mean the city line. And why, do you think, Snow White learned to use the phone and yet doesn’t stand at our doorstep? But after the phone, she will perhaps learn how to use the mail and the telegraph. And we get that same federal investigation which Miss Mills promised us after all.”

“The curse suggestion remains open.” Regina said.

“No.” He stroked her hair. “You won't go to Storybrooke. It is dangerous and unnecessary. And I won’t say once again that I am against senseless cruelty. Even if she really had the brains to initiate a federal investigation and not get bogged down with formal replies, it would be complicated by the fact that none of the agents would be able to get into the city to personally interview residents. So, returning to the beginning of our conversation. Tomorrow a friend of Trenton, a federal agent, arrives in New York. He’s the head of one of the criminal departments and, according to Howard, he will be able to hush it all up. Lucky chance.”

“Well, why do you need to go there tomorrow?”, the Queen asked calmly. “If he’s Trenton’s friend, he can ask him for the favor on your behalf.”

“No, it won’t work out that way.” He kissed her temple again, massaging her shoulders lightly. “If it comes to a federal investigation, he should be my personal friend from whom I personally lost enough money to poker. Do you understand?”

“And will you sit there all evening?”, the Queen asked doubtfully. “You're still unwell. Is it really impossible to postpone this meeting with this acquaintance?”

“He rarely comes to the city, I already told you. And hyper protection is harmful.” Gold smiled. “You yourself constantly tell me this. I'm not going to participate in the marathon; I'm just going to play some poker.”

“Why didn't you tell me right away that she called you?” Regina asked all of a sudden.

“What for?” Her husband shrugged. “I told you when the solution was found.”

***

“How are you?”

As soon as Gold entered the house, the Queen slipped from the living room to meet him.

“Everything's fine.” He kissed his wife. “How long have you been sitting here?”

“It doesn't matter.” She kissed him back, taking off his coat.

“Wait.” He pulled a dark blue velvet case from his inside pocket. “I have something for you.” He opened it and a necklace of a dozen large sapphires in a diamond web sparkled, even under the dim light of the only pin up lamps in the hallway.

“What’s the occasion?” The Queen mechanically ran her fingertips over the perfectly cut stones.

“The Trentons will have their anniversary soon.”, Gold answered. “25 years of marriage. And Howard suffered from not being able to choose a present for Jessica. Which is not surprising, given the vile mass consumption brands sold in local stores: from Bulgari to VanCliff.”

“It seems to me, you began the story from too early on.”, his wife smiled.

“”Not at all.” Gold assured her. “So he suffered and complained for half a night and then I remembered that antiquary that helped us find our furniture. He was very happy about my call and said he has something that he wants to show me personally. And after a while he arrived. When I saw this necklace, I immediately imagined it around your neck and realized I would be a complete idiot if I didn’t buy it. May I?” He picked up a necklace with one hand and with the other made a rotational movement, nodding at the mirror.

“You may.” Regina turned her back to him and he snapped the clasp closed, the necklace falling around her neck.

“Even better than I imagined.” He looked at her in the mirror, clutching her hips to him.

“It's perfect.” She snuggled closer to her husband. “Where did he get it?”

“I don't know.” Gold kissed her neck. “It seems it belonged once to one of the English Queens, I didn’t delve further into its history. It seems she had taste, although it’s unlikely she looked in it as dazzling as you do.”

“Should I be afraid to ask if there is at least some money left in our account after tonight?” Regina laughed.

“There is, don’t worry.” After kissing her shoulder, he went into the living room and lay on the sofa.

“How much did you lose in poker?” She followed him and after taking off his shoes, sat down next to him.

“Enough for us to not have to worry about anything.” He stretched out on the couch, squaring his shoulders. “Do you mind if I sleep here today?”

“What don't you like about our bedroom?” Regina began to unfasten the buttons on his vest.

“It’s too far from here.” Gold yawned.

“I'll get you a blanket.” She wanted to get up but her husband held her back.

“No. Sit with me for a while.” He kissed her hand and pressed his cheek on her.

“As you wish.” The Queen leaned over and kissed him.

After a couple of minutes, she had already covered her husband with a blanket, listening to his even breathing.

“I'll sit with you a little more.”, she whispered, sitting down on the carpet and lowering her head on his shoulder.


	29. Chapter 29

“Have you laid him down?” The Queen, who was lying in bed feeding Charlotte, looked up at her husband who entered the bedroom.

“Yes, it was finally possible.” He crouched on the edge of the bed, looking at his daughter. “In my opinion, this one is ready too.” He smiled, running the back of his finger with ease over the baby's cheek.

“It seems so.” She pressed her breast a little bit and the nipple slipped from the girl's lips.

“Let me take her.” Gold took the daughter from his wife’s hands and, swaying softly, carried her to the cradle. Returning to bed, he lay down next to his wife and buried his nose in her hair, hugging her waist. “I miss you very much.”, he whispered in her ear, kissing her.

“I know.” She pulled away a little from her husband. “I do, too. But I'm not sure either of us is ready for this.”

“Regina, Charlotte's been almost three months old, you were at Dr. Medisson’s a week ago.” Gold gently pulled her back to him. “She said that everything is in order. But all this week, you have been avoiding me. What's wrong?”

“I don't know.” The Queen settled in his arms. “I feel uneasy.”

“I'll be very careful.” He slid a hand down her stomach and stopped. “And we can stop everything at any moment.”, he whispered to his wife.

“The point isn’t only that. The question is also how careful I can be.” She covered his hand with hers. “I'm afraid I’ll do something wrong.”

“What, for example?” Gold was surprised.

“Well ... You know ...” The Queen hesitated. “After everything we went through, I’m scared to even put my head on your chest. Every time I am afraid I will break something. I’m not sure that you are ready.”

“I'm in perfect condition.” He lowered his hand a little lower. “Relax, close your eyes and don’t think about anything. We have to start at one point.” He carefully slipped in his fingertips, while kissing her neck and then behind her ear.

“I'm just not sure that this “one point” should be today.” She nevertheless didn’t stop him, allowing him to gradually slip deeper inside.

“Well, your body, unlike you, is sure.” Gold concluded after a while, removing his fingers from her. He brought his hand to his face and slowly inhaled the smell of his wife. Then steadily stretched his fingers covered with the transparent mucous cobweb. “See?” He kissed her neck again.

“I didn’t say I don’t want this.” Regina sighed. “I said I’m scared.”

“Everything will be fine.” Gold assured her, smoothly penetrating into her, no longer with his fingers now. “See? Nothing bad happened after all?” He stroked her thigh with one hand and let the other pass under her to reach her breast.

“I'm afraid to move.” She froze in his hands.

“Then don't.” He squeezed her thigh. “We're not in a hurry.”

He put his hand on her clit and began to massage it lightly, squeezing it between his pointer and middle fingers, kissing her neck and shoulders, slightly biting her delicate skin, alternately caressing her nipples with his other hand. He remained motionless himself inside her for a long time. And only when her even breathing was lost and she began to move her hips a little, showing impatience, he began to move slowly.

“Maybe I'd rather be on top?”, the Queen whispered to him.

“Really?” He leaned back, dragging his wife with him, holding her hips. “Well, it was worth getting in intensive care after all.” Gold grinned, turning her around to face him so as not to lose contact with her.

“You’re a fool.” Regina sighed good-naturedly.

“It is what it is.” Gold smiled. “Do not rush, okay?”

The Queen slowly moved up and down his cock. Slightly squeezing it at the very top, smoothly sinking down and lingering at the very bottom, slightly swaying hips from side to side.

“It was definitely worth it.” He stroked her hips absentmindedly, covering his eyes, completely surrendering to her will and the rhythm she set.

“Be quiet.” The Queen leaned towards him and kissed him tenderly, for a long time. Gradually, she started to build up her pace, getting more and more carried away by the process, forgetting about everything. First, he squeezed her hips, slightly adjusting the amplitude of her movements, and then he pulled her abruptly by the arm so she, unable to resist, collapsed on him with her whole body.

“Rumple.”, she said, momentarily falling out of her sweet nirvana, trying to rise herself back up again but he held her down.

“Don't stop.” Gold whispered, kissing her.

He squeezed her hips again, setting the pace. Pretty quickly they entered their pre-orgasmic haze and reached their final release almost simultaneously.

“Are you all right?” The Queen slowly ran her fingers along his ribs, catching her breath.

“Better than ever.”, her husband breathed. “I already forgot how good it feels to be inside you. Like I have returned home after a long journey.”

“How poetic.” Regina grinned. She wanted to lie on her back but he held her down again.

“No, stay with me.” He pressed her tighter. “I love falling asleep while being inside you so much ... I’ve missed it so much ...” Gold muttered sleepily.

“I'm not going anywhere.” The Queen finally relaxed in his arms.

“After a while, we’ll go again.” He buried his nose on her shoulder, falling asleep.

“Very likely.” She smiled, settling herself on her husband’s chest.


	30. Chapter 30

“Is it impossible to set the alarm at the right time and not wake us up in such a difficult way?” Gold grumbled when his wife reached for the phone once again to pause the alarm.

“I set it at the right time.” The Queen yawned, settling down on his shoulder again. “I just can't wake up at the right time.”

“Set it exactly twenty minutes later then.” He buried his nose in her hair, clutching her to him. “You never get up on the first ring anyway.”

“And then we’ll be late because yes, even then I won’t get up with the first ring. So just accept it.” She reached out and kissed him. “Also you know, you could take Gideon to classes sometimes as well.”

“What kind of “classes” does a two-year-old have?” Gold sighed. “Seriously, Regina, I don’t understand the meaning of all this. Three times a week, we wake up at the crack of dawn. And all this for Gideon to draw a sun at preschool and clap his hands to music. As if he can’t do the same thing at home.”

“He can do it at home.” The Queen reached for the ringing phone again and finally turned off the alarm. “But if we want him to attend a good school, he needs to attend preschool classes there. This is how things work here in this world.”

“Please.” He stroked her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. “He will go to the school for which we will pay. This is how things work.”

“Well, we can buy him a Harvard diploma right now.”, his wife grinned. “The question is what good will it be for. Henry is also out there in an excellent school for which you pay. Getting graded with twos and threes instead of fives and regularly being threatened with expulsion, despite all your on time payments.”

“Why talking so early right in the morning about Henry?” Gold grimaced.

“I won't do it again.”, the Queen said in a conciliatory tone.

“Anyway, it’s annoying.” He lightly kissed her temple. “We have a nine-digit amount of money on our account and we are forced to get up on an alarm in the early morning like labor workers. This is somehow wrong.”

“We’ll only suffer for twenty years.” She stretched, squaring her shoulders. “Then the children will go to college and we can sleep until noon. And, by the way, speaking about children, isn’t it time for us to have another one? Just to remind you how parents usually sleep. I see you are too spoiled with Charlotte. It's time to remember how our first year with Gideon went.”

“Gideon has bad heredity.” Gold sighed. “That won't be the case with the other children.”

“In any case, we are waiting of ten years of school with each. So it’s better to start considering the benefits of that daily routine right now. Okay, you go to sleep and I’ll go wake the children up.” She sat down, looking around for her robe.

“Charlotte too?”, he asked.

“Yes.”, the Queen nodded. “We’ll take a little walk along our way back from the preschool.”

“In such weather?” Gold cringed. “It's damp and cold and disgusting.”

“But the children still need to walk.” Regina shrugged. “Sleep!” She leaned over and kissed his nose.

“I have to get up anyway.” He sat next to her, hugging her from the back, inhaling her smell, burying his nose at her neck. “Stanley said he sent me an interesting investment project last night. It’s necessary to read it and re-evaluate.”

“Starting at half past seven in the morning?” She looked back at her husband.

“Look in my office and estimate the thickness of the folder lying on my desk.” He kissed her on the shoulder and got out of bed, throwing a robe on. “If I begin right now, it would be nice if I’ll be able to have it finished by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? So I’ll sleep alone tonight?”, the Queen inquired.

“I can lie down next to you and read. Although this is risky.” Gold smiled. “Do you want some breakfast?"

“When I get back.” Regina waved him off. “I don’t have time now.” Her phone beeped again.

“Come on, turn it off already!” He rolled his eyes in exaggeration. “We've all given up.”

“This isn’t the alarm.” She reached for the phone. “It’s Regina. Stern invited her to dinner, she’s panicking a little bit.”, she said as she read the message.

“Horrible! How could he do that?!” Gold grinned.

“It's not just dinner.” The Queen began to type in the answer. “Esther has arrived, he wants to introduce them.”

“Okay, I don’t want to get into this.” He went to the door. “I'm going to wake the children up."

“I'll be right there too.”, his wife answered.

***

“Don't worry; Esther is a very sweet girl, very open. You will like her and so will she.”

The Queen and the Mayor were drinking coffee in the living room.

“I'm not worried about that.” The Mayor turned a spoon around in her hands. “It's just somehow too fast. I’ve met him just recently and now he already wants to introduce me to his daughter.”

“You've actually known each other for six months.” The Queen shrugged. “And I still don't understand what makes you so rejecting. He doesn’t propose you drop everything and go with him to the North Pole; he simply wants to introduce you to his child. What's so terrible about this?”

“It complicates things.” She put down the spoon and drummed her fingers on the table. “Yes, we meet sometimes, sometimes we have dinner together and sometimes not only dinner. And it suits me. Why spoil everything? And as what is he going to introduce me to his daughter?”

“Maybe ask him about it?”, her sister suggested.

“I'm afraid I won't like the answer.”

“And what would you like the answer to be?”, the Queen specified.

“I don't know.” the Mayor shrugged. “I would have liked it if we had left everything as it is, not going anywhere, in any direction. That would be perfect. Too much has changed in my life and too quickly. New city, new family, a new relationship with my child, new job, new apartment. My head is spinning already. I like David, I like spending time with him. But I’m not sure that I’m also ready for a new relationship.”

“Well, you already have them whether are you ready for them or not.” Regina covered her palm with hers. “And maybe you should stop analyzing so much and just let life go the way it goes. You know, nothing ever happens at the wrong time. Everything happens exactly when you need it. I advise you to stop worrying and trust the course of life.”

“Have you ever thought of writing a philosophical thesis?” the Mayor grinned. “Maybe a monograph?”

“Seriously, Regina, you're so worried in vain.” the Queen continued, not paying attention to her sister’s jab. “Gold and I were separate from each other for half a lifetime and at first I thought that we were both idiots we had spent so much time apart in vain. But then I realized that everything happened exactly when it was supposed to happen. We could have been united in the Enchanted Forest, even before the curse. But then I would have neither Charlotte nor you. And Gold would have hated me over time because I wouldn’t have cast the dark curse and that would have deprived him of the opportunity to see his son again. So we had to go through all that to come to what we have now. And we both went through failed relationships to learn to appreciate ours. I don’t know if you and David will eventually succeed or fail but you definitely shouldn’t worry about it. Eventually, everything will turn out as it should.”

“No, you know, I'm not ready for such a deep philosophical research.” She added another cup of coffee. “I have to deal with the current situation, understand what I want in it and how it can be better.”

“Well, when you yourself don’t know what you want, surrendering to chance is the most logical decision.”, her conversationalist noted. “So in your place I would go to dinner and see what happens.”

“Regina, are you home yet?” Gold looked into the living room. “Oh, and you are here.” he added displeasedly and closed his robe more tightly when he saw the Mayor. “You know, you could choose a better time to visit. These morning meetings were inevitable while you lived here but you have practically moved out already, haven't you? So now at last, I would like to calmly have breakfast with my wife without thinking about the fact that I need to get a decent dress code for breakfast.”

“You’re not bothering me.”, the Mayor muttered in confusion.

“Oh really? Well, at least some of us are not perplexed by this situation.”, he remarked sarcastically. “I'll be in my office.” He nodded to the Queen, leaving the room.

“By the way, all that “everything happens at the right time”?” Miss Mills grinned nervously. “I'm clearly not at the right time.”

“Don’t mind him.”, the Queen dismissed her. “It's not about you. His leg still hurts a little in the mornings when the weather is humid. It annoys him. And today he hasn’t slept enough, so he’s in a bad mood and you have nothing to do with it. He will drink coffee, walk around a little and everything will be fine. I'll go find out what he wants for breakfast. Will you wait for me?”

“I have to run to work.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve already sat with you for too long.”

“Okay, don’t worry too much. Everything will be as it should.”

She accompanied her sister and then went up to her husband’s office.

“Don’t scare Regina like that, she’s already nervous.” The Queen smiled as she entered the room.

“Well, I won’t.” Gold answered, not looking up from his papers. “But honestly, she is a little tiresome. She is like a child who comes to her parents’ bed for every single reason.”

“Don't be tedious.” She leaned over the chair, hugging her husband by the shoulders. “She really feels uneasy. Too much has changed in her life. She is bewildered. And where else can she go if not to us? We are her only family. No, don’t push her away.”

“I don’t push her away.” he rubbed his cheek on her hand. “But you know, when I said she could live with us as long as she wanted, I didn't really mean that. She has lived with us for almost all of these six months. It’s time for her to go on an independent life.”

“She has gone already.”, the Queen said in a conciliatory manner, gently flexing his shoulders. “And she just came in for coffee in the morning because she spends the rest of her time at work. We all know this isn’t the reason. No need to splash your bad mood all over her.”

“Well, tell her I'm sorry.” Gold leaned back, covering his eyes.

“Are you sorry?”, Regina asked.

“No, but you can still say so.” He kissed her hand.

“Okay, it doesn't matter.” She kissed his temple. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Well ... you to begin with.” He pulled her by the hand, circling the chair and sat her on his lap. “And we'll see.”

“Yeah.” The Queen rubbed her hips on him. “So, is your mood already improving?

“Inevitably.” He embraced her by the neck and drawing her close to him, kissed her slowly. “When you are near.”


	31. Chapter 31

“I don't want to say I didn’t expect this.” Regina Mills sighed, adding speed on the treadmill. “But, you know, I’ve never had to meet the parents of a man I’d been dating before.”

“You are actually engaged.” the Queen grinned, also increasing the speed on her own.

“Which means I’ll have to see his mother regularly.”, the ex-Mayor said sadly.

“Well, not so regularly.”, her sister objected. “Meredith is a really busy person. So it’s unlikely she will have time to meet with you more than two to three times a year. The same way she meets David and Esther now.”

“Yes, David told me.” Regina nodded. “But, judging by his stories, she is quite peculiar. So perhaps, these two or three times will be just enough.”

“Well, there’s nowhere to go anyway.” the Queen shrugged. “And you will like Meredith in the end. She is a very interesting person. Even though she can be too harsh and intolerant, she is also the chief of neurosurgery at Hopkins and the head of the foundation, which was originally founded by David's father. Meredith carries out fifteen operations a month while simultaneously dealing with a bunch of administrative issues. It would be sort of unrealistic to expect her to be sweet.”

“Don't remind me of the foundation.” the former Mayor grimaced. “I have never met her before but I was already present at probably her tenth telephone showdown with her son. After all, he is already forty-three years old and this year he once again didn’t receive an award named after his grandfather in the surgical field because he is engaged with me and doesn’t work. But his ex-wife received it which she seems to love very much for her brilliant research. And now every night she is the third person in our bed. But the secret is that David will never receive this award. Because it’s his father’s foundation. And it’s not enough for him to be the best; he needs to do something beyond human capabilities so that no one says his mother just put pressure on the commission since she is the head of funding.”

“She hardly loves Adele so much.” Mrs. Gold raised an eyebrow. “It rather annoys her that the prize went to the woman who divorced her son. I think she is much more upset than David himself. Show some understanding.”

“I do.” Regina nodded. “But this doesn’t add to my desire to go to dinner with her tonight. I’ve had enough with Cora. And I don’t really want to gain any further experience in interacting with yet another domineering mother.”

“She's not like Cora at all.” the Queen objected. “I would say she is more like you.”

“That’s not the best option either.” She turned off the treadmill and wiped her sweat with a towel.

“Don’t worry.” Her sister followed her example. “Why do you think we arranged the dinner with us? For most of the evening, Meredith will be occupied with Rumple, they’re in love with each other.”

“Really?” Regina grinned.

“Absolutely.”, she smiled. “Meredith always knows what to invest in. Last year, she advised several pharmaceutical advances that brought us very good profits. Part of which went to financing her research. These two have complete reciprocity. So don’t worry: it’s possible she won’t even notice you.”

“Let's hope so.”, the woman nodded. “Shall we grab a bite?”

“No, I don’t eat after training.” the Queen shook her head. “Besides, I want to go stretching.” She looked at her watch. “The yoga class begins in five minutes. Will you join me?”

“Are you kidding?” prayed Regina. “We've been hanging around here for two hours. And you promised me this run would be for cooling off.”

“Well dear, this is a world without magic.” she smiled. “Here I have to make some efforts so that all the familiar dresses would fit me as usual again.”

“Is something wrong with them now?” Miss Mills asked.

“Something is wrong with me now.” The Queen looked thoroughly at herself in the mirror. “It seems that my waist and hips got bigger after giving birth.”

“I don’t see anything.” The ex-Mayor also looked thoroughly at her figure.

“The important thing is that I see it.” She sighed.

“What does Gold say?” Regina asked.

“Everything that is supposed to be said in such situations.” her sister grinned. “About how beautiful I look. I don’t even know how he manages an erection looking at my flabby stomach.”

“Seriously?” Miss Mills raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you seen his own flabby stomach since… forever?”

“Oh, just stop.” the Queen grimaced. “I like his belly. But not my own. And I'm going to yoga, you do as you want.”

“Okay, let's go.” she sighed.

“Good.” Mrs. Gold smiled. “Just an extra half hour and the effect are going to be just amazing. You will like it too.”

***

“Where's Esther?” Regina said when Stern got inside her car, near the clinic.

“She left for her mother.” he answered, closing the door. “So we're going to dinner alone.”

“Great timing.” The woman smiled sadly. “I was hoping that talking with her granddaughter would interest the grandmother more than our engagement.”

“Stop it.” He reached out and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s just my mom. Everything will be fine, you’ll like each other.”

“Do you actually believe that?” Regina squinted at him.

“Of course.”, he said uncertainly.

“I see.” She grinned, starting the car.

Soon they parked near the Golds’ house.

“Ready?” Stern smiled, taking Regina's hand.

“Well, there’s nowhere to go, anyway.” She smiled back. “Let's go.”

“Mummy, hello!” After entering the house and kissing the Queen, who opened the door for them, Stern waved at the woman sitting in the living room.

“This time you weren’t almost late.” She smiled at him, bouncing Charlotte on her knee. “It's nice.”

Gideon sat next to them, on the carpet, and stacked pieces of rails on the railroad.

“No, honey, it won’t work that way.” Meredith leaned over and turned the part around, the one the boy was stubbornly trying to attach. “Look, is it going to work like that?”

“Where is Gold?” Regina asked the Queen in a whisper.

“He got caught up at Trenton’s”, she answered just as quietly, taking her coat from her, “but he should be here any minute.”

“And there we go again, everything not going according to plan.” Regina sighed. “Mrs. Stern.” She smiled uncertainly as she entered the living room. “I ...”

“Dr. Stern.” the woman interrupted, giving her an unfriendly look.

Putting Charlotte on the carpet, she took a glass from the table near the sofa, went to the mantelpiece where a bottle of whiskey was and poured herself a little.

“Of course.” Miss Mills nodded. “Nice to meet you, doctor. Regina Mills, assistant Mayor.” She held out her hand, going towards Meredith.

“Well, I see that you too have something else to do besides mating.”, she said sarcastically.

“Mom.” David looked sternly at his mother.

“What?” She drank a little from the glass. “You already had one wife, you have a daughter - it’s time to get down to work now. Don’t be offended, honey.” She glanced at Regina. “I have nothing against you personally. I think all this is stupid and untimely in general.”

“What do I hear?” Gold’s voice was heard from the hallway. “Are we finally seeing the real Dr. Stern visiting us?” He smiled, entering the living room.

“Rumple.” The woman popped a smile, turning to Gold.

“I see, I'm on time.” He went to Meredith and taking her by the shoulders, he kissed her temple. “You know that Regina is my wife’s sister, right? And that am I against you treating her badly?”

“Oh, well, don't you start either.” Dr. Stern grimaced. “I already said that I have nothing against Miss Mills. But David needs to spend time on his research and not on his personal life, if he ever wants to receive recognition for his merits and not pour his many years of efforts down the drain. And, considering how much money you invested in it over the past year, you should be in solidarity with me now.”

“How do you know how much I invest?” Gold squinted.

“I know everything about everyone.” The woman smiled conspiratorially, leaning slightly towards Gold and touching his elbow. “Come on, you and I need to speak in secrecy.”

“Just like that?” Gold said surprised. “I, unlike you, still haven’t had a sip.” he nodded at her glass.

“Well, better for all of us.” Meredith nodded. “Otherwise you’ll say I took advantage of the fact that you were drunk.”

“Hm.” He raised an eyebrow. “I feel it’s going to be an interesting conversation.”

“You’ll see.” she returned the glass to the shelf and headed for the stairs. “So are you coming?”

“Meredith, you know I can't refuse you.” Gold grinned.

After giving his wife a quick kiss, he followed the woman into his office.

“Tell me what else you know that’s interesting.” He pulled out a chair for Meredith after which he sat down himself at the desk opposite her. “What good things are our pharmacist friends doing?”

“I didn’t come with new information, alas. This is about to be an unpleasant conversation for me, so I wanted to get it over with right away, at the very beginning of the evening, so as not to suffer the long wait.” She looked hesitantly at Gold, collecting her thoughts. “I won't beat around the bush, Rumple. I need money.”

“Well, this isn’t anything new either.” he shrugged. “How much do you need?”

“It’s not needed for research.” She put her hands on the table, her fingers tangled together. “I need a lot more besides that.”

“Meredith, you’re scaring me.” He leaned on the desk, carefully looking at his conversationalist. “What happened?”

“I am opening a charity clinic based on Hopkins.” Her voice sounded unusually insecure. “And I overestimated my monetary strength a bit. No, actually quite a bit. I thought I could take out enough money from the funds but it didn’t turn out like that. The charter of the fund is such that funds can only be spent on scientific researches which certainly bring great benefits. We get completely new techniques, ones we previously could not have imagined. But the problem is, these methods are not accessible to everyone. Additionally, not only the high-tech treatments but also the most ordinary medical care is inaccessible to many people.”

“What kind of clinic is it going to be?” Gold asked perplexed.

“The obstetric department with neonatology intensive care units, the surgical department, the emergency care and the ambulance area so far.” She looked at her hands. “Then, perhaps, it will be possible to add pediatrics and therapy. I have a building that belongs to the hospital which hasn’t been used for a long time. I took out from the fund however much I could, writing statements for financing the clinical trials with it, invested all my savings as well but it wasn’t enough. I'm stuck midway through. I will eventually receive funding for the clinic from our foundation, the money appointed for clinical trials I told you about, then also some from the money appointed for the hospital’s interns’ training and additionally from two other charitable foundations that are willing to give us a certain amount of money every month. But right now I don’t have a large enough amount to equip the clinic. And again, right now, there’s nowhere to take it out from.”

“How much do you need?”, Gold asked.

Meredith called the amount.

“And this is the capital? That is, how much have you already invested?” He asked in shock.

The woman nodded silently.

“It seems like this is really important to you.” Gold examined his conversationalist thoughtfully.

“Very important.” she nodded. “You know, David’s father was a very good person. But he was too devoted on science and way too detached from real life. He created a fund that funds a dream. I want to make that dream come true. I want to, so that not only surgeons know his name but also those people for which this clinic is about to become hope. Over time, you and I will settle the difference.”, she added uncertainly.

“Does David know about this?”, Gold asked.

“No.” The woman shook her head, “David doesn’t know yet. And there’s no need to tell him now, he has his own tasks he needs to concentrate on.”

Both were silent for a while.

“I will give you money.”, Gold finally said.

“Truly?” Meredith breathed out.

“Truly.” He wrote out a check and slid it across the desk.

“But here is more than what I asked.” She looked at the check and then looked up at Gold.

“This is in case of unforeseen expenses.”, he nodded.

“Thank you.” She covered his palm with hers. “You have no idea what this means to me. How will we arrange everything? I don’t know if I can now provide at least some monthly payments ...

“Meredith.” Gold stopped her. “You don’t owe me anything. Just take the money and let’s forget about it.”

“What?” The woman was confused. “No, Rumple, it’s not so. This is a huge amount, you can’t just give it to me.”

“Perhaps I also want to make the world a little better.” Gold smiled, stroking her hand. “When the first child is born in your clinic, send me a photograph. It will be a sufficient fee.”

“Rumple.” She lowered her head.

“Meredith, dear.” He ran a finger along her cheek. “I think you need to be happy now, not cry. And, you know, I thought you could do something else for me. I understand that you want your son to come out of the shadow of his father and grandfather, as you did. But David is different. He is very talented, intelligent, hardworking but he is not ready to give up everything in order to achieve his goals. I know it's hard when your child is not like you. But let him be different. Besides, he really is trying very hard. He does everything he can in order to not disappoint you. And admit it, he really has achieved a lot. Frankly, you have nothing to complain about. If you demand he does what’s impossible for him, nothing good will come of it. Trust me. You know, once upon a time I lost my son. And I do not want this to happen to you.”

“Did you have another son?” Meredith was confused.

“Well, look at me, how old do you think I am?” Gold smiled. “You don't think Gideon is my firstborn, do you? Please trust me. It will be much better if you don’t put pressure on David but let him live the life he likes instead.”

“What happened to your son?” The woman asked, still bewildered.

“It’s something I don’t want to talk about. I’m sorry.” He patted her hand lightly.

“Yes, of course ... I'm sorry.”, Meredith muttered.

“Come on.” He stood up and held out his hand for her. ”Dinner is getting cold.”

***

“What did you tell her?” Closing the door behind the leaving guests, the Queen pressed herself against her husband. “She seemed like a different person after she left your office.”

“It's a secret.” Gold smiled, sliding his hands over his wife's hips.

“So what kind of new investment did Meredith offer you?” She rubbed her nose against his nose.

“This is also a secret.” He kissed the Queen, clutching her tighter. “I can only tell you this is the best investment of all I have come across to this point.”

“Is it now?” The Queen hugged his neck. “Do we bet I can get all your secrets out tonight?”

“We bet.” Gold smiled, kissing his wife again.


	32. Chapter 32

“Still, I had to go meet him myself.” Mayor Mills, sitting on the sofa, gulped down her whiskey and held out a glass to the Queen. “This is his first Christmas here, I should be at the airport now.”

“With a broken leg, that’s quite a problem.” The Queen put the glass down on the mantelpiece.

“It's not broken!” The Mayor protested. “There is only a torn ligament. Isn’t that so, Dr. Stern?” She turned to David who was sitting next to her.

“It would be better if you didn’t put pressure on this leg at all now. If you’re planning to use it again in its full capacity that is.” He took her by the shoulders. “Be patient for a while, okay?”

“It would be better if I had stayed home on Christmas Eve.”, the Mayor said irritably. “As planned.”

“Regina, please stop doing this.” Stern pleaded. “I already admitted that the trip to Aspen was a bad idea. But seriously, it never crossed my mind that on the third day you would ski on a black track. I still don’t understand how you got there at all. As far as I remember, I left you on the green one, under the supervision of the instructor.”

“It was boring there.” Miss Mills shrugged. “I already told you.”

“Yeah you had a lot of fun on the black one.” He hugged her tightly, leaning against him. “You know, I really think that everything ended very well, despite the complete lunacy of this act. From one orthopedist to another.” David grinned, kissing Regina on the cheek.

“Maybe it will be better to take off the ring?”, the Mayor addressed the Queen who was arranging plates on a large oval table.

“Well, that's too much!” Stern was playfully indignant.

“I don’t mean it.” The woman waved him off. “Maybe I shouldn’t say to Henry yet that am I engaged? I don’t know how he will receive the news.”

“Please don't start again.” The Queen twirled the glass around in her hands, examining it meticulously in the light. “It's time for Henry to come to terms with the fact that you also have a life. You won’t stop being his mother simply because you’ll get married. You have been only and exclusively his mother for too long. But this should not be the only occupation and the only role in your life. And that's fine, Regina.”

“Yes, I don’t say that it’s not normal,” the Mayor sighed. “Just why do it all at once.”

“What “all"?”, her sister asked.

“Listen…” Regina hesitated. “Don't get me wrong... But you know... Maybe it's not a good idea to bring him here. I need to meet him and take him to my place. And take off the ring for now. So at first, everything will be familiar. And then, gradually...”

“Regina, that's enough.”, the Queen interrupted her. “Stop patronizing him like a little child. Yes, you know, it will be useful for him to spend Christmas with his family. With all of his family. To get to know Charlotte and his stepfather. Maybe then he’ll finally realize that this is his family.”

“With his stepfather...”, the Mayor repeated. “David, could you leave us for a couple of minutes?”

“I’m already scared.” Stern cringed in pretense. “What do you want to say about me?”

“Not about you.” Regina smiled, kissing him. “But it's between Regina and me.”

“Okay.” He got up and headed for the door. “But I insist the ring being on you when I get back.” He smiled at the door.

“It will be.”, the Mayor assured him.

“So what kind of secret conversation awaits us?” The Queen grinned, sitting down next to her.

“David doesn't know who you and I really are.”, her sister said gravely. “And Henry, as you know, can say a lot of superfluous things.” She looked probingly at her sister.

“Hm.” She thought for a moment. “Well, there are two options: push David away without an explanation or with a far-fetched one; or trust again in the course of life and his feelings for you. In the first case though, a crack will appear between you two which will grow with Henry’s each visit and you’ll never know what would have happened if you had left everything as it was and didn’t try to manipulate the events and control everything.”

“And what if he leaves me, believing that my son is out of his mind? After all, a normal person can interpret only in this way his words about magic and so on.”, the Mayor asked after a pause.

“Very good then.” the Queen nodded. “Why would you need someone who is not ready to accept you together with your “out of his mind” child? Although, frankly, David isn’t going to leave you because of such nonsense. You could have noticed this yourself if you hadn’t spent all your energy on constant anxiety. And, by the way, about Henry…” She took the vibrating phone from her pocket and opened a message. “Gold has already picked him up, they are coming here. So get ready for a meeting with your son. More whiskey?”

“Perhaps.”, Regina answered quietly.

***

“Really? Family dinner?” Henry grinned. “I mean, with you and the Queen?”

“Yes, we planned to spend Christmas a little differently ourselves,” Gold sighed, looking through the strip with the suitcases, “but life dictates its own plans. Your mother injured her leg and cannot dance around you now. So we have to take care of both of you. Where is your suitcase?”

“Maybe I'd better go back to school?” the young man grimaced. “Not very bright prospects open up here.”

“Well, of course you won’t.” He picked up a bag from the stip. “Henry Mills, aren’t you? Take it, baby. Mom is waiting. Excited, worried. So you will go to her now and you will smile at her properly. Come on!” He went towards the parking lot.

“Of course, smile.” He nonetheless stumbled after his grandfather. “As if my life is even remotely good.”

“It can get much worse.” Gold said without turning around. “If I stop refilling your card; which you use, by the way, very actively. I still have questions for you about some of the withdrawn amounts.”

“And I'm not going to answer!” the teenager snorted.

“You'll have to.” his grandfather answered indifferently. “If you want to continue receiving money. Get in.”

They reached the parking lot and Gold opened the car door for his grandson.

“And you really think it will be a sweet family dinner?” Henry asked after a while, when they had already taken the highway.

“Yes, it’s unlikely.” he grinned slightly. “Although I don’t understand what else you want from us. Regina and I filed a petition for Emma...”

“Which was rejected!”, his grandson interrupted him.

“They rejected it.” Gold agreed. “As I had told you. This is a public charge. Nothing can be done here. Nevertheless, I found a way to reduce her term by two years, through the help of my friends. I don’t expect you to ask what it cost me. And I don’t even expect you to ask what it took for my wife to sign that petition. But it's time to admit to the fact that I did everything I could to get your biological mother out of prison...”

“Where she got in because of you!” Henry boiled up.

“Where she got in because of the attempt to abduct a child.”, his grandfather patiently continued.

“That you stole!” The teenager concluded triumphantly.

“Here we go again, the same thing for the thousandth time.” Gold breathed wearily. “That Belle wasn’t able to take away from me. Deal with it. This is my son. I have already lost your father and am not ready to go through it again.”

“My mother ended up in jail because you couldn’t come to an agreement!” Henry exclaimed with resentment. “Is that fair?”

“It happened.”, he answered calmly. “But I didn’t make her try to steal the child and certainly not my wife. We did everything to help her. It’s time for you to calm down and start living in peace with us. We are your family. Whether you like it or not, you have no other family.”

“What about the family that's trapped in Storybrooke?” His grandson asked displeased.

“They are all in perfect condition, including your uncle Neal, only thanks to my good will.” He turned off the highway into the city.

“Really?” the guy muttered, looking darkly out the window.

“Really.” Gold said calmly. “And everything will be fine with them further on, despite the attempts of your grandmother, Snow White, to create more difficulties for me and Regina. How is, by the way, her research in federal investigations progressing as Mayor of Storybrooke? Over the past year, she didn’t seem to have made much progress.”

“I'm not going to tell you anything.” Henry answered without looking at him.

“Don't.”, his grandfather agreed. “But think about it. Perhaps you will come to the conclusion that I am not treating my relatives so badly. In any case, much better than I could have, given all the facts.”

“Wow! What a generosity!” the young man grinned.

“Actually, yes.” Gold continued just as calmly. “You see, I don’t owe anything to your grandparents, as well as your biological mother. Nevertheless, I’ve always helped them, receiving no gratitude for it. And it continues to this day. They break in dirty boots into my bedroom and I have to bow on top of that. It’s impossible to change them but you, I think, you can still rethink everything. For starters, I would advise you not to test the limits of my patience. If possible, put a smile on your face and be a good son for your mother. Today and throughout all the holidays. Believe me; it will benefit everyone, starting with you.”

***

“Henry!” The Mayor wanted to greet her son.

“Regina, don't step on that foot.” Stern held her back.

“Sorry, honey, I'm a little out of shape.” the Mayor smiled shyly.

“It’s okay, mom.” Henry went to the Mayor, leaned over and hugged her. “I’ve missed you!”

“And how I missed you!” She hugged him in response and pulled him to her, both sitting on the sofa. “How are you doing?” She took her son's hand.

“A beautiful ring.” He examined her finger.

“Yes ...” the Mayor was a little confused. “I didn’t know how to tell you, but now I have to, yes?” She stroked his shoulder. “Well ... David and I are planning to get married.”

“Wow.” Henry looked at Stern. “David. Just like my grandfather, who cannot be with us today because he is trapped in Storybrooke.”

“Well, there it is.” The Queen whispered to her husband, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

“The vacation lasts only a week.” He put his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “We can survive it.”

***

“Are you sure you can handle him yourself?” The Queen stood at the hallway next to her sister, who Stern helped to get dressed.

Henry, already in his coat, stamped on the threshold.

“Of course.” the Mayor nodded. “Besides, David will come in the morning. Right?” She turned to Stern.

“Of course.” He threw a fur coat over her and kissed her on the temple. “I’ll drop to the clinic for a short while and then immediately come to you.”

“See? Everything will be fine.” She hugged her sister.

“You know, let me accompany you.” The Queen also threw a fur coat over her shoulders. “I'll put you to bed while David takes care of his patients. I’ll be much calmer.”

“C'mon! This isn’t necessary.”, the Mayor dismissed her.

“You know, I will also be so much calmer.”, Stern intervened. “I already have to be at the clinic, so I’ll just drive you home and leave right away. It will be nice if Regina stays with you for a while.”

“Lord David I just torn a ligament.” Regina grinned.

“I know.” Stern nodded. “And it's pretty dangerous with your temperament. You can’t sit still for a minute unless you are constantly reminded of your ligament.”

“Okay, fine, do whatever you want.” She bowed her head in playful obedience. “I agree on everything.”

“Come on.” Stern easily picked her up. “We'll take you home for starters.”

***

“Are you still awake?” The Queen asked in surprise, entering the living room and seeing her husband sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace with knitting needles in his hands.

“Dark Ones don't sleep.” Gold smiled, raising his eyes to his wife. “Remember?”

“I’ll remember this tomorrow morning when the children have to wake up.” the Queen sat down beside him. “What will it be?” She nodded at the long knitted fabric.

“I don't know.” Gold shrugged a little. “An endless scarf? I mostly like the process itself. Very soothing. You should try it too.”

“I’ve already tried.” the Queen yawned, wrapping herself in a blanket laying next to them on the sofa. “It annoys me, on the contrary.”

“This is because you do not know how.” Gold remarked, not looking up from his occupation. “Do you want me to teach you?”

“No, I have my own ways.” She lay down on the sofa, all curled up and resting her head on her husband's hip. “That’s really relaxing.” she sighed, hugging his knees with one hand.

“How's Regina? Is she all right?” He gently stroked her hair.

“Regina is already sleeping.” the Queen yawned again. “And we should too.”

“We will soon.” Gold assured her, returning to his knitting.

After some time, he put down the knitting needles and gently stroked his wife on the cheek.

“Regina?” He called softly. The Queen rolled over, lying comfortably on his hip.

“Regina?” He barely touched her shoulder.

“Yeah, another five minutes.” the Queen muttered sleepily.

“Okay, it doesn’t matter. Good night.” He laid his head on the back of the sofa, closing his eyes.


	33. Chapter 33

“As soon as you calm down, everything will start working out.” Gold was standing waist-deep in the water and with his palms under Gideon, he was holding him on the surface.

The pool that was located in the courtyard of the chalet standing on the shore of the lake, was quite small: only a couple of meters wide and no more than ten in length. The house was surrounded by centuries-old pine trees as far as the eye could see but the sun still managed to penetrate the open space of the house including the pool so the water in it was being warmed up by the middle of the day without any additional tricks.

“Take a deep breath and put your head under the water. I will let you go, you will do a few strokes and you will be at the side.” Gold continued.

“No, don't let go!” Gideon gripped his hand.

“Trust me, it will be very easy.” He gently removed his hand from his own. “And I’m here with you, you have nothing to fear.”

“Yes.” confirmed Charlotte who was sitting on the stairs leading to the pool. “It's not scary at all.”

“Easy for you to talk!” Gideon exclaimed. “You are sitting there, not here! Do you know how scary it is for me?!”

“Come here! I'll hold you for a while with my arms!” Charlotte opened her arms for her brother.

“Leave me alone!”, the boy snapped.

“You don’t want my arms?”, the girl asked in surprise. “How about some hugs?”

“Don't tease him.” the Queen smiled, sitting on the side of the pool. “Seriously, Gideon, we're all here. Now dad will take his hands off and you will swim right to me. We are both ready to catch you if anything goes wrong.”

“Okay.” The boy hesitated for some more time but then he dove in and swimming somehow about a meter, he ended up near the side where the Queen caught him and put him next to her.

“See? It wasn’t difficult at all” His father smiled. “Now let's go along the pool and not across.”

“No way!” Gideon protested. “Now it's Charlotte's turn.”

“I'm ready!” She got up and went down a couple more steps into the water. “In your arms.” The girl held out her hands to her father.

“Gideon, this way you aren’t going to learn how to swim for a long time.” Gold sighed. “Come here.” He took the baby girl by the arms and circled her in the water. “Are you sure you’re ready?” He raised his daughter in his arms.

“Yeah.” Charlotte nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Diving?” He specified.

“But only if we do it together!” She snuggled closer to her dad.

The Queen’s phone squeaked once again.

“Regina, I'm starting to get jealous.” Gold grinned, watching the Queen reading an answer. “Who’s writing to you all morning?”

“Regina.” his wife answered him, not distracting herself from the phone. “And it looks like this is a live broadcast from Cardiff.”

“What?” He asked perplexed. “How?”

“Hey, Dad! Are we diving or not?” Charlotte interrupted.

“Of course, yes.” Gold hugged his daughter tighter. “Come on, hold your breath. Hop!” He crouched so that both of them were under water and after a few seconds stood up again. “Is everything okay?” He pushed the wet hair away from her face.

“Yes! Let’s go again!”, the girl answered with enthusiasm.

“Come on.” He did the same a few more times. “Let's practice the strokes and then try swimming to the side, like Gideon, okay?” He laid her on the water, holding her in the same way with his palms under her. “Stretch your hands forward and slowly take them apart ... So I didn’t understand what was that about Regina and Cardiff.”, he turned to his wife.

“Henry failed the final exams.” Regina answered without stopping typing. “He’s retaking it next week.”

“I know that.” Gold nodded. “The headmaster promised me this time he will hand over everything for him. I’ve recently talked to him and he assured me they will give the best tutors to this foolish kid. Regina and I have talked about this.”

“It’s like you don’t know Regina at all.” the Queen shrugged. “She needs to control everything herself. So now she is in Cardiff, making sure that Henry is properly engaged in studying.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what she needs right now.” He sighed. “Where is David?”

“He is at the conference in Florence.”, she answered.

“Found the time!” Gold snorted.

“It doesn't depend on him.” Regina looked up from the phone. “And even if he were here, Regina would still fly by herself. However, she is optimistic.” She went again deep into reading. “She has already arranged everything. If anything occurs, she will give birth at the Queen’s mother’s hospital, the same place as the English duchess did. She went there on a tour and she really liked everything. She thinks everything is even better there than over here.”

“Really? And what does she think of the sky over the Atlantic?” her husband retorted. “How was she even allowed on the plane?”

“Here we go again.” the Queen grinned. “Don’t you know Regina? Besides the fact that she needed to have control over everything, she was already worried Henry would feel abandoned and betrayed if she wasn’t around now.”

“Come on, he is 19 years old!” Gold was indignant. “At his age, you and she herself ruled a whole kingdom and yet she is ready to feed him with a spoon, still.”

“Should I ask you the same thing for the third time?” Regina laughed.

“No.”, her husband dismissed her. “Indeed, there is nothing to be surprised about. Although I still continue to. Say hello from me. Well, are we swimming?” He turned to his daughter.

“Let go!” Charlotte answered confidently.

“Now mom will come off the phone and you will swim to her.” He waited until the Queen put the device aside. “On three? One, two...”

“No, wait!” The girl grabbed his arm.

“Okay, let's practice our strokes some more.” Gold smiled. “Stretch out your arms ...”

The phone squeaked again.

“So what’s the news?” Gold inquired.

“That’s the timer.” The Queen rose to her feet, taking the phone with her. “I'll go take the cake out of the oven. And you take the children out of the pool. It's time to have lunch and for some of us to go to sleep.” She winked at her daughter.

“We want to swim more!” Charlotte protested.

“You will have a swim again in the evening.” Her mother smiled at her and headed for the house.

“Will you carry me on your back?” The girl turned to her father when her mother disappeared from sight.

“Of course.” He smiled.

“Me too!” Gideon was enthused.

“Jump on!”, he said after he swam to the side the boy was sitting at.

***

“It’s hot!” Charlotte protested, moving away from the hairdryer.

“Be patient for a couple of minutes.” Gold gently held her by the shoulders. “You need to dry your hair; otherwise you’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s already dry.” She nevertheless remained still.

“One more minute.” He picked up another strand with the brush. “Almost there already.”

“Is that all now?” Charlotte asked.

“That's all.” Gold assured her, turning off the hair dryer.

“I want a braid.” She turned her head, looking at herself in the mirror.

“Where?” Her father smiled at her.

“Here.” The girl ran a finger down from the top of her head.

“As you wish.” He quickly braided a classic one. “Which hairpin do you want?”

“That one, the pink.” Charlotte pointed with her finger.

“Is it okay?” Gold put her back to the bathroom mirror and gave her a smaller handheld one.

“Yeah.” The girl examined the braid. “I love you, daddy!” She reached for him and he, bending over, kissed her on the cheek.

“And I love you too, Princess. Come on, mom and Gideon are already waiting for us.”

***

“You are wearing my shirt again.” Gold stated, entering the kitchen.

“So what?” the Queen asked without turning around. “I like it and it’s too small for you anyway.” She removed a frying pan with sauce from the stove, continuing to stir it quickly.

“Not at all!” He was slightly offended. “Besides, this isn’t the only shirt of mine that you wear. Seriously, Regina, my closet already completely smells of your perfume.”

“So you have already been smelling with my perfume.” She put the frying pan on the table and turned to her husband. “And what's so wrong with that?” She stepped towards him and hugged his neck.

“I'll buy you the same shirts since you like them so much.” He kissed his wife. “But what is that habit of wearing mine?”

“No, the same ones don't interest me.” Regina rubbed her nose against his nose. “I like wearing yours. By the way, I like this one too.” She unfastened several buttons on his shirt, kissing him.

“Okay, we'll discuss it later.” Gold pressed the Queen to him, kissing her back. “Come on, the children are waiting in the dining room.”

***

“So fast?” Gold was washing dishes when the Queen pressed against him, hugging him from the back.

“They are already in bed: they are still watching cartoons but they are already dozing off.” She ran her hands under his shirt, her nose buried in his neck. “Isn't it time for us to go to bed as well?”

“You read my mind.” He reached out to kiss her. “I was just thinking it would be nice to get some sleep.”

“I can’t say I meant exactly that.” the Queen grinned.

“We’ll do everything else later on.” Gold put the last plate in the dryer and closed the water.

“Well, whatever you say.” Regina quickly kissed his shoulder. “I'll go swimming for a while.”

“It’s like that, then?” He turned to his wife, showing mild resentment. “You’re leaving me alone?”

“I'll be back.” The Queen smiled, kissing her husband again.

***

After standing on the pier for a while, basking in the rays of the hot afternoon sun, she dove into the cool water of the lake which smelled a little bit like watermelon. The water was warmer where the sun glinted along it and much colder below, if she lowered her legs. So she tried to stay on the surface, in the golden glow of the sun-warmed water. Off coast, there was a small island with a single tree on it. The Queen rushed towards it, wondering how this tree could survive at this tiny patch of land in the middle of a vast lake, the other shore of which could not be seen even in fine weather.

Having reached the island, she stretched her body out on the grass near the tree. Breathing in, facing the hot sun. After she warmed up, she dived again into the water and swam back to the house. The route to the island and back took her about an hour. Reaching back to the pier, she threw off her swimsuit, wrapped herself in a towel that was hanging on a sun bed, admired the lake a little more and went back in the house.

Gold had dozed off in a hammock near the water. The big-leafed spruce trees on which it was attached created the shadow necessary for the hot afternoon hours, letting through only a few sunrays. Gold was sleeping in shorts and an open shirt, covered with a light blanket. Regina stood quietly nearby for a little while, admiring the sun glinting on his black and silver hair and then she leaned over and kissed her husband gently, dropping her towel.

“You are back?” Gold muttered sleepily. “Come to me.” He reached for her hand and pulled the Queen towards him, laying her on the hammock. “Oh, how cold you are…” He grimaced, clutching his wife on him and throwing the blanket over her.

“Not that cold.” She settled in his arms. “I warmed up a bit in the sun, before coming to you.”

“Apparently, quite a bit.” he put his leg over her, kissing her on the neck.

“Well, as much as I could endure without you.” Regina rubbed her hips on him, pressing her lower back against his stomach.

“Minx.” Gold grinned at her head. “Okay, I'll warm you.” He continued kissing her neck and shoulders, sliding his hand over her hips.

The Queen shook her hips a little, touching him the way only she could, with the necessary intensity and amplitude. He unbuttoned his shorts and she arched towards him, reaching for a kiss. Entering her, he began moving very smoothly and carefully. After a while, they changed their position and Regina got on top. He was moving faster then, holding her hips. Regina clung to his chest, afraid of losing balance and completely surrendering to the will of his hands and the nirvana in which they both ended up. Gold moved faster and faster, his breathing getting more and more lost. After he came, he slipped out of her and continued pumping with his fingers and turned her on her back. After a couple of minutes, she joined him in bliss, squeezing his shoulder painfully.

“Dad? Mama?” Gideon's voice was heard from the porch.

“Let's pretend we're sleeping.”, the Queen whispered to her husband.

“They'll tear the whole house apart.” Gold smiled, stroking her hair. “But we can continue later at night.”

“We definitely will.” She slid to the ground and immediately grabbed the hammock because her legs didn’t obey.

“Is everything all right?” He sat up, grabbing her under the elbow.

“Absolutely.” The Queen straightened up, stretching her legs. “I just hurried myself a bit. Coming?”

“Take this.” He took off his shirt and handed it to the naked Queen. “You can't go to the kids like that.”

“I knew you would eventually give it to me.” Regina wrapped herself in the thin linen. “I did say I liked this one too.”

“It was an insidious plan.” Gold got up and took her by the waist. “Come on, we’ll choose a shirt for the night.”


	34. Chapter 34

“Already?”, the Queen whispered sleepily, snaking her hand under her pillow in search of the vibrating phone.

After finding it, contrary to expectations, she saw an incoming call on the screen and not the alarm clock.

“David, what happened?”, she answered barely audibly, putting the phone between her ear and the pillow and closing her eyes again. “That's great.”, she continued after the pause. “Congratulations... Yeah... Well, it's not great... Yes, I can... No, I won’t fall asleep... I’ll come, don’t worry.”

She lay still for a while, with her eyes closed and the phone under her ear. Then she raised herself on her elbows and shook her head, driving away the remnants of sleep.

“Rumple.” she patted her snoring husband besides her. “Rumple.” she repeated softly, leaning toward his ear.

“Hm?” He reached for a kiss without opening his eyes.

“I need to leave.”, the Queen said, kissing him. “David called. Regina is giving birth and she’s a little panicked. He was called for an emergency operation and he panicked even more than her due to the fact that she will be left alone. He asked me to go and sit with her.”

“Has he lost his mind?” Gold yawned, looking closely at the clock on the nightstand. “Half past three! Where are you going?”

“Well, Regina can hardly wait until morning.” Regina shrugged. “And I can't leave her alone.”

“She is not alone.”, her husband objected. “She’s under the doctors’ supervision. And David could have found a replacement for himself and not call you in the middle of the night.”, he added displeasedly, pulling her to his hips and burying his nose into her hair.

“Well, he found it. Me.” the Queen grinned, brushing her hair and exposing her neck for a kiss.

“I didn't mean that.” He kissed her. “And generally, maybe I don’t want to be left alone either. Now I won’t be able to fall asleep without you.”

“So you won’t oversleep for the kindergarten.” She turned to him. “And you know he cannot appoint another surgeon in his place. Furthermore, when I gave birth, David was next to us and supported both of us, appreciate it and don’t be mean.”

“I do appreciate it.” Gold sighed, sliding his fingers along her back. “Don’t pay attention; I haven’t really woken up yet.”

“Well, that means there is still a chance to sleep without me.” The Queen smiled. “Don't forget about the kindergarten.” She gently slipped out of his hands and headed for the door.

“I won’t forget.”, her husband promised, wrapping himself in a blanket again.

***

“Regina?” The Queen looked into the room. “How are you doing here?”

“Terrible.”, a tearful Regina answered, curled up in a ball on the bed, not looking at her.

“Okay.” She quickly went up to her sister and crouched next to her. “What's wrong?”

“Everything’s wrong.”, she answered quietly. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that at all! I can’t give birth to this baby. I'm not ready.”

“You know, it will sound trite, but everyone says that.” The Queen gently stroked her hair. “I said that as well and I don’t know if David had the time to tell you about his mother...”

“He had.”, her sister interrupted. “That's not the point!”

“Then what is the matter?” Regina asked cautiously.

“I'm not ready for my second child.” She finally turned and looked at her sister.

“Well, dear, now there's nothing to be done. You’re already having it.” the Queen was a little bewildered. “And it seemed you were ready a few days ago. What happened now?”

“I don’t know, apparently, I didn’t fully realize that I had a child all the time she was inside me.” Regina nervously cringed. “Now that she's about to appear, it's different.”

“I still don't understand what scares you so much.” She slowly stroked her shoulder. “I think it's just a hormonal surge that’s causing this, it will pass soon. Don’t worry. Relax and don’t think about anything.”

“This is not a hormonal surge.”, her sister objected. “Look at us! David is always at work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At any moment, his phone beeps and he leaves. Even now he is not here. And I can’t even complain to anyone. Everyone will say that I knew who I was marrying. Yes, and I'm always at work. David already has Esther, whom he sees at best once a month and I have Henry, who I need to take care of. I just returned from Cardiff yesterday and miraculously didn’t give birth to this girl on the plane. How will we be able to raise her?”

“Wow, stop, stop right there.” the Queen took her hand. “Do not wind yourself up. You are upset because David isn’t with you right now and you have a hormonal storm going on, so it seems to you that everything is awful. Yes, you knew who you were marrying, but right now you are not ready to dwell on that. Tomorrow you will look at this situation with different eyes, believe me.”

“Didn't you listen to me at all?” Regina got angry. “What do my hormones and my emotions have to do with any of this? We objectively have no way to raise a child well! We don’t have time for this! She will grow up while seeing us for how much? An hour a day? Do you know how much maternal leave Trenton can give me after childbirth? Three weeks!”

“We’ll talk to him.” the Queen assured her.

“About what?” Her sister grinned. “This is also an objective reality. I can’t be away longer. And I can’t, like you, drop everything and sit with her. This is not my way, I need my position, my career. This is my life. I can’t refuse it for the sake of the child. Just like David. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. He has to work the equivalent of three people so as not to let his father down. You know, nobody was happy when he got his job, bypassing the chief of surgery. And until now, talks that he received it undeservedly and only thanks to his father, have not ceased. So he needs to prove every day that he deserves it. He cannot give it up.”

“You both don’t need to give up anything.” Regina slowly stroked her palm. “That doesn't make you bad parents. The time that you can spend with her will be enough. And we will always be there. We will share our nanny with you. She is already tested and proven absolutely wonderful. And I can sit with my niece as long as necessary. Everything will be fine with her! She won’t love you any less from spending time with the nanny or with me. You are her mother. The only important thing is how you spend the time you can spend together.”

“And if that time won’t be enough for me?” She carefully looked at her sister. “But I don’t want to quit work either...”

“You’ll throw a coin.” the Queen shrugged. “When it falls, you will immediately understand whether you like the option that came out. If you don’t like both, then you’ll come up with a third. Everything will be fine, honey. Soon you will take your daughter in your arms and you will understand what to do next. No need to think about everything in advance and pre-wind yourself up. Somehow everything will work out; there will be a solution that’s going to be appealing to you.”

“How simple it is, according to you.” Regina grinned.

“Don't complicate it.” She stroked her sister's shoulder. “The child already exists but there is absolutely no point in worrying. Relax. In the end of it, you somehow coped with Henry, despite all the work.”

“And what came of it?” - raised her eyebrows.

“Listen, this is ridiculous.”, the Queen sighed. “You know very well yourself that Henry isn’t like that because you were a bad mother to him. Seriously, Regina, you are upset about David, you’re scared and it seems to you like everything is awful and will only continue to get worse. But this isn’t so. So stop right now until you come up with a dozen more unsolvable problems and believe in their existence.”

“Find Catherine.” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, clutching the blanket. “My anesthesia is starting to go away. She said it would be possible to add more when this happened.”

“Of course.” Her sister nodded.

After a while, she came back with Dr. Medisson.

“At last!” Regina was delighted. “Do it faster.” She smiled nervously at the doctor. “This thing stopped working after one second.”

“We will check the dilation first and then we will do everything else.” Catherine crouched next to her.

“Can you add the anesthetic first and then check?”, she asked, holding back her annoyance.

“No.” The doctor shook her head, putting on gloves. “We need to make sure that dilation still allows us to add an anesthetic, I already told you. Don’t be afraid, I will look very carefully.”

“No, it hurts so much!” She squeezed her doctor's palm with her hips as soon as she barely touched her.

“Regina, we won’t succeed.” Catherine said seriously, stroking her knee with her other hand. “Do not panic. Relax. I will look very quickly and very carefully. Right now, take a deep breath.”

“That’s enough!” Regina pleaded after a couple of seconds.

“That’s enough.” Dr. Madison agreed, carefully removing her hand. “We can no longer add an anesthetic, the dilation is too large.”

“What?” She was confused. “No, Catherine, I can't do that! I need pain medication!”

“And I need the delivery to go without complications; otherwise your husband will fire me.” The doctor smiled. “Seriously Regina, if it was possible we would add it but now it's too late. Believe me, you don’t need either an emergency caesarean or a dozen other complications that may come up if we do this.”

“Well, I had...” the Queen began.

“You had a different situation.” Catherine turned, looking expressively at her.

She mimicked locking her lips shut and throwing the key away.

“It won’t be for long.” The doctor continued, turning back to Regina. “You need to push through only a couple of hours and then we will give birth.”

“No!” She shook her head. “I can’t! I need David. When will he finish?”

“I'm afraid it won't be soon.” Madisson sighed. “I don’t know what kind of patient he has but they called in a neurosurgeon additionally to David, which is always a bad combination with a traumatologist.”

“No.” Regina repeated. “I can’t give birth without him. Do something, stop everything! He will be free and then we will give birth.”

“Regina? Are you okay?” Katherine looked into her eyes.

“Am I okay?” She threw herself up, sitting up abruptly in bed. “It hurts me and every minute it gets even more painful! And I need to tolerate "just a couple of hours!" Alone! While my husband collects someone in pieces! I feel great! Better than ever! I don’t know how but you have to stop everything!”

“Sshhhh…” The Queen crouched next to her and hugged her. “Honey, you're not alone. I'm with you and I won’t go anywhere. But this is really not going to work out this way. You need to calm down. Get a hold of yourself. Yes, everything is not going exactly as you planned but there's nothing to be done.”

“Everything is going completely wrong.” Regina sobbed, lowering her head on her shoulder.

“That may be so.”, her sister agreed with her. “But now is not the time for tantrums, now you need to take care of your daughter.”

“She's right.”, Medisson said. “You need to calm down. Adrenaline inhibits labor greatly and affects the baby badly.”

“Catherine, we can handle it.” Mrs. Gold turned to her.

“Okay, I’ll come back in half an hour.” She nodded, appreciating her conversationalist’s look.

“I can't.” Regina breathed, digging her nails into the Queen's hand, clutching her tightly.

“Of course you can.” The Queen gently stroked her back. “What is her name?” She asked waiting for the contraction to end.

“Whose?”, she asked, catching her breath.

“My niece’s.”, Regina said.

“Avital.” Her sister smiled.

“A beautiful name.” The Queen continued stroking her back and shoulders. “Did David suggest it?”

“Yes.” Regina nodded. “He really wanted to name his daughter that way. That was the name of his beloved grandmother. Esther’s name was chosen by her mother but I agreed to Avital. You and I don’t have any beloved relatives.” She cringed again, resting her forehead on her sister’s shoulder.

“Breathe.” She slightly increased the pressure. “Tali and I are counting on you. I know how scared you are. But she’s even worse and no one but you can help her now.”

“I want David to be here.” Her sister burst into tears again, hugging her.

“I know, dear.” The Queen stroked her hair. “And he wants it too. But we also all know this is impossible. Instead of shedding tears, better think about how Tali is going to be so proud of her dad. Her dad is the head doctor of the best clinic in New York and the youngest head doctor in the country. Not many of her friends will be able to boast for the same achievements coming from their parents. Yes, he is like a rock star!”

“You know, I'm starting to get jealous.” Regina laughed through her tears.

“The main thing is that you have already begun smiling.” She smiled back. “Now it will be easier to get yourself together and calm down. You can give birth to this girl. You've been waiting for this for so long that just a few hours is simply nothing. I know in how much pain you are. But you need to try to get distracted. Stop panicking, close your eyes, take a deep breath and think about how you are going to pick her up in your arms.”

***

Upon entering the house, the Queen noticed that her daughter’s boots were still standing in the hallway. Having passed through the living room and glancing along the way to the kitchen, she went upstairs to the nursery and, to her surprise, didn’t find Charlotte there. Opening the next door to their bedroom, she stopped at the threshold, looking at her husband and daughter with a smile. Gold was sleeping over the blanket, in a T-shirt and gray household pants and Charlotte as well, at his side, wrapped in a plaid, which usually lay in her bed. She looked at them for a while, leaning against the lintel and then she nevertheless went to the bed and carefully lay down next to her husband, so as not to wake her daughter.

“Good morning.”, she whispered, kissing his temple.

“Oh, mom returned.” He opened his eyes and, reaching out, kissed her neck.

“I see that not all children were taken to the kindergarten.” The Queen nodded at her sleeping daughter.

“She flatly refused.” Gold shrugged. “She said she wanted to sleep. And I understand her.”

“And Gideon?”, his wife inquired.

“Gideon has an important deal today.” Gold smiled. “He and Kevin will exchange their Hot Wheels and Gideon is expecting to bargain for some very rare colors. So he woke me up half an hour before the alarm clock and we rushed to the kindergarten at its opening. How is Regina? Is she all right?”

“Yes.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “We have a niece now. Look.” She took the phone from her pocket and, flipping through a few photos, handed it over to Gold.

“Is this a filter or does she really have such blue eyes?” He looked at the photograph on the screen.

“She really does.” The Queen confirmed. “And she is actually blonde. If I hadn’t attended the birth, I would have thought that they had the baby replaced.” She grinned.

“You know, you too were blonde in your childhood.” Gold remarked, enlarging the photo.

“Really?” She squinted at her husband. “I don't remember that.”

“That was in early childhood.” He gently patted her hair. “You got dark pretty quickly. And there is no doubt at all. Even without being present, it is safe to say the child wasn’t replaced. Look, she has David’s nose. It is already obvious.”

“Well, yes.”, the Queen agreed.

“What did they call her?” Gold inquired.

“Avital.”, Regina answered.

“That’s pretty. And the girl is pretty as well.” He returned the phone to his wife. “We need such a girl as well.” He hugged the Queen with his nose buried in her collarbone.

“With David's nose?”, she asked with irony.

“No, I would still like one with my nose.” Gold grinned. “Well, with yours as an option too. But such blue eyes would not hurt us, for a change in our family.” He ran his hand first down her thigh and then up, climbing under her skirt.

“Perhaps.”, the Queen agreed, snuggling up to him and kissing his neck.


	35. Chapter 35

Entering the bedroom, the Queen put a breakfast tray on the bedside table and, bending over to her husband, she carefully kissed him on the corner of his lips.

“Good morning.”, she whispered.

Gold smiled, still not opening his eyes, and slightly turned his head, exposing his neck for a kiss. The Queen slowly walked her lips from top to bottom, from ear to collarbone, then returned upwards and kissed him behind the ear.

“More.” he purred, turning his head and exposing the other side of his neck. “Now that’s a good morning.” After the Queen repeated the same treatment, he finally looked at his wife and gently pulled her to him.

“Happy birthday.” The Queen smiled, settling on his shoulder.

“Is it today already?” Gold squinted at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Don't pretend you don't remember.” Regina wrapped her arm around him, snuggling even closer.

“I remembered it was around this week.” Her husband shrugged slightly. “But I don’t remember such specific details.”

“Stop it.” She reached out and kissed his nose. “I know that you are not used to celebrating it, but this should change sometime. For the children, this is a celebration indeed, and for me as well. Someday you have to get over to our side.”

“Yes, a wonderful celebration.” Gold grinned, stroking her shoulder. “I become even older than I used to be.”

“Well, we become older than we used to be every day.”, the Queen remarked, “And if we were to grieve over this every day then there will be no time left for anything else. We are not celebrating this. We do the fact that we have you.”

“You have me every day too.”, he objected.

“That may be so.” Regina agreed. “But today is the day that gave you to us and we are all happy about that. Aren’t you?”

“Fox.” Gold sighed, kissing her temple. “Speaking of celebrations, where is that sheet of paper with the seating of the guests?”

“I have to look for the sheet.” the Queen thought for a second. “Yesterday I put it at a prominent place so it could be at hand. It remains only to recall where this prominent place is. But I have everything on my phone.”

“Let me see.” He reached for his glasses. “We need to change something there.”

“Right now?” Regina asked in a mock complaint. “You know, we could have breakfast.” She nodded at the tray on the nightstand. “And more. And engage ourselves with the seating of the guests afterwards. There’s still a lot of time until evening.”

“Now.” Gold nodded. “Before the thought is gone.”

“Okay.” His wife sighed, taking a phone from her nightstand. “Here it is.”

“Yeah.” he went into reading. “The Trentons need to be re-placed. Howard should be left next to him”, he jabbed a finger at the name on the list, “and we should place Jessica somewhere off to the side, she’ll interfere there.”

“Jessica won't really like it.” the Queen grinned.

“But then she will really like her new Bentley.” Gold nodded, not distracted from reading. “We’ll place her next to Regina and she will be busy all evening talking about the dangers of slings and whatever else Regina is doing wrong with Tali.”

“And what did Regina do that was so wrong?”, she asked.

“As an assistant to the Mayor, Regina will also benefit if no one distracts the Mayor from pleasant and useful communication today.”

After making a few more corrections, he put down the phone and took a cup of coffee from the tray.

“See?” He handed the cup to his wife. “Not long.”

As soon as he managed to take a few sips of coffee, Charlotte ran into the bedroom.

“Daddy!” She climbed onto the bed and pressed herself against Gold. ”Happy Birthday!” She reached out and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, honey.” Gold smiled, hugging his daughter.

“Here!” The girl handed him a piece of paper. “I drew it for you!”

“Very beautiful.” He examined the drawing.

“These are balloons, this is a cake, this is you and mom.” The little one pointed her finger at each.

“And why does mom have pink hair?” Gold got interested.

“Well, to be pretty.” Charlotte explained patiently.

“I see.” Her father nodded. “This is, by the way, a good idea, eh, mom?” He turned to the Queen. “Shouldn't we really dye your hair that color?”

“We can.” The Queen laid her chin on his shoulder, also examining the drawing. “That's great, Charlotte.” She smiled at her daughter. “Did you draw everything all by yourself? Did Gideon help you?”

“Of course, all by myself!”, the girl exclaimed. “Gideon hasn’t finished his drawing yet.”

“And what is he drawing?” Gold inquired.

“Dinosaurs.”, the baby girl answered.

“That's a witty gift.” Her father laughed.

“Are we going to the rink today?” His daughter hugged his neck. “You promised me that we would go.”

“Well, if I promised, then we’ll go.”, her dad assured her. “Have you had breakfast already?”

“Yes.” She squinted at the Queen. “My mom made me eat a whole bowl of oatmeal.”

“This is very useful.” Gold pressed her to his side and kissed the top of her head. “You still want to be a ballerina, don’t you? Ballerinas need to eat healthy food. Weren’t you told this in your ballet class?”

“Maybe I don’t want to be a ballerina.” Charlotte frowned.

“Why not?” Gold was surprised.

“Because there is nothing easy about it at all.” The girl sighed.

“Everything is always difficult at first.” He stroked her hair. “But this isn’t a reason to immediately abandon whatever you have started. Do you want me to buy you pink ballet shoes today?”

“No.” Charlotte shook her head. “Miss Tencer doesn’t allow anything but whites.”

“We will agree with her.” Her dad assured her. “So, do you agree?”

“Yeah.” the girl nodded, thinking. “Only those I told you about though, with sparkles.”

“Only those!”, he confirmed. “Go find out how Gideon is doing and choose a dress for the evening. Mom and I will have breakfast too and together we will go to the rink and for your ballet shoes. Okay?”

“Okay.” She jumped out of bed and headed for the door, facing her brother in the doorway. “I was the first to congratulate dad!”

“You could have waited for me.” Gideon told her reproachfully. “You always have to be the first.”

“Don’t quarrel.” the Queen smiled. “Who cares who was the first?”

“More so, your mother was the first anyway.” Gold spread his hands.

“And what did mom give you?”Charlotte got interested.

“Yes mom, what did you give me? Did you draw me a picture?” Gold asked sternly.

“I did.” Regina nodded. “I'll show you later.”

“Come on mom, show it now! We also want to see!” The children pleaded excitedly.

“Let's take a look at your dinosaurs.” She pointed at her son. “We haven't seen them yet.”

“Here.” The boy handed his dad a drawing. “I hope, you like it. Happy birthday dad!”

“Wow, there is a whole Jurassic park!”, he admired. “Awesome drawing, thank you.” He leaned over and kissed his son on the nose.

“Mom, show us your present now.” Charlotte reminded her.

“It is a secret gift.”, the Queen answered evasively.

“Come on, mom! It's not fair! You saw ours!” the children protested. “Dad! Tell us!”

“Once mom says it's a secret, then it's a secret.” Gold shrugged. “Come on, I will get you an ice cream and turn on the cartoon that you didn’t finish watching yesterday. After that, we’ll go for a walk. Okay?”

“Chocolate ice cream?” Charlotte clarified.

“Whatever you want!”

The Queen was just finishing her coffee while sitting in bed when he returned to the bedroom.

“The ice cream was a deceitful move.” She smiled at her husband.

“Yes, I'm generally terribly deceitful, like all the Dark ones.” He crouched next to her. “And returning to the topic, is it time for us to move on to my secret gift?” He kissed his wife, sliding his hand over her thigh.

“This isn’t your secret gift.” Regina put her hands on his shoulders. “I have something else for you.”

“So you really drew a picture for me?” Gold smiled.

“Yes.” the Queen nodded. “Actually, I wanted to save it for the evening, but, you know, I can’t wait to give you your present.”

She took out from her bedside table a small velvet case that could hold a pen, a watch or a tie pin.

“It doesn't look a lot like a drawing.” her husband remarked with irony.

“Well, it's not quite a drawing.” Regina handed him the case. “But I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

Opening it, he saw a small sheet of glossy paper wrapped in a tube and tied with a thin satin ribbon.

“This is ...” He looked at his wife.

“Open it.” The Queen smiled.

Gold untied the ribbon with a slightly trembling hand, unfolded the sheet and froze, looking at the ultrasound image.

“Regina!” He finally exhaled, clutching his wife to him and, closing his eyes, buried his nose in her neck. “When did you find out?”, he asked after a pause.

“Last week.”, she said a little embarrassed. “But I wanted to tell you today. Are you angry that I didn’t tell you right away?”

“Are you mad?” Gold raised his head and looked at his wife. “What does Medisson say? How far along are you?”

“Six weeks. And she believes that it’s a girl again.” Regina smiled. “She can determine it somehow by the heartbeat.”

“A girl ...” He looked at the picture again. “Another one of my girls. This is the best birthday gift I've ever received!” He kissed his wife. “I love you!”

“And I you.” She kissed him back.

“You know, perhaps starting from this year my birthday will stop being such an unpleasant day.” Her husband ran a hand over her cheek.

“I hope so.” The Queen smiled. “Congratulations, Dad!” She kissed him again. “And by the way, while the rest of our children are busy, we still have time for that secret gift you were thinking about.” She slipped her hand under his T-shirt, hugging him.


	36. Chapter 36

“No thank you, I don’t want porridge!” Charlotte pushed her plate away from her and frowned. “And in general, mother promised that today she would prepare breakfast for us.”

“Well, that would be the same oatmeal.” Gold smiled, pouring himself coffee.

“Well, yes.” the girl agreed. “But anyway, I wanted mother to have breakfast with us.”

“Mom doesn’t feel very well.” He sat next to his daughter and stroked her hair. “She needs some more sleep. Eat your porridge and then we’ll go at the cinema. And after that we'll cook dinner together. Aunt Regina and Uncle David are coming tonight.”

“And they will bring us presents?” Gideon, sitting next to him, perked up.

“Off course.”, his father assured him.

“Will Esther come?” Charlotte was enthused in turn. “Say she will come!”

“And Esther will come.” he nodded.

“And what will we be watching at the movies?”, the boy asked.

“That’ll be up to you.” Gold smiled. “Finish your breakfast and we’ll have a small competition.”

***

“Hey, how are you?” Gold sat on the edge of the bed and, bending over to his wife, carefully kissed her temple.

“Give me a couple more hours and I will come back to life. Probably.” Regina answered without opening her eyes.

“Maybe you want me to bring you something?” He gently stroked her hair.

“No, I don't want anything.” She leaned her temple against his palm. “Here, hold your hand like that.”

“Massage it?” Gold clarified.

“Try it.” She barely shrugged.

“Listen, you probably can have at least some kind of pain medication, right?” He asked after a while.

“It won’t help.” the Queen grimaced. “I already tried. Medisson says a headache is kind of like a morning sickness. Will be gone in the second trimester.”

“And what does she suggest?” Gold asked hardly restraining his irritation. “Simply to endure a daily headache for twelve weeks? You know, I think we should change our doctor.”

“There are far less than twelve weeks left.” Regina said conciliatorily. “Don’t be nervous, otherwise your head will also hurt and you still have to entertain the children. For the next few hours for sure. Where are they, by the way? You and I are both here and the house is quiet. This is very strange somehow.”

“They're assembling puzzles.”, her husband answered moderately.

“Wow!”, the Queen admired. “And how did you achieve this?”

“Very simply.” Gold smiled. “I said that the one who is the first to assemble their puzzle will choose the cartoon we will watch at the movies today.”

“And between which ones is the struggle going on?”, his wife asked.

“Between Transformers and the new story of Rapunzel.”

“Well, I hope this new story will be fascinating.” The Queen grinned.

“You don’t even doubt the leader.” Gold said. “I don’t know how fascinating it will be, I personally plan to sleep during it. We have been having fun here since six in the morning. I need to take a break.”

“Perhaps.” Regina agreed. “I'll sleep a couple more hours too. What time will Regina and David arrive?”

“Maybe it's better to cancel everything?” He looked doubtfully at his wife.

“Are you crazy?” She finally opened her eyes. “After they, following us, canceled a trip to the islands to still celebrate Christmas with us, it will be very impolite. And for what reason should we do this? I will be in shape by the middle of the day, everything is fine.”

“Well, you understand that they will come with the children.” Gold began. “With all their children.”, he emphasized. “Including Henry. And I do not want him to grate your nerves. You already feel unwell, no need for him to torture you all evening.”

“Come on, stop it.” His wife stroked his hand. “We can survive one evening in a year. And honestly, since David appeared, you and I have nothing to complain about. He does a great job with him. So we are already free from all our obligations. Once a year we can welcome David and Regina together, along with their boy now.”

“He's unpredictable.” He shook his head. “We haven’t seen him all year, we’ve only heard about his successes from Regina. No one knows what we can really expect from him. And you don’t need any extra stress.”

“Rumple, everything is fine.” The Queen took his hand. “I'm not sick, I'm not dying. I just have morning headaches. And Henry seems to really have changed a lot. Just listen to Regina when she talks about him. She is all glowing. Compare this with what was a couple of years ago. He went to college and a year later even received a scholarship. Can’t we be hopeful?”

“Apparently, David is a good father.” He looked at her palm, slowly stroking it with his thumb.

“And that's good.” She sat up and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Henry finally got the family he always needed. There is Regina, who loves him, and David, who loves Regina and is ready to take care of her son. Now we can be calm for both of them and ourselves too. And you no longer need to perform several roles at once, now you can just be his grouchy grandfather, who he sees on holidays. Everything else will be taken care of by David.”

“Grouchy?” Gold pulled away from his wife and looked at her, slightly narrowing his eyes.

“I said this as an example.” She lay back on the pillow.

“Dad! I’ve finished already!” Charlotte ran into the bedroom. “Come on, I'll show you.”

“Well? What did I say?” The Queen smiled.

“Mom, come with us to the cinema too!” The girl climbed into bed and lay down next to her mother.

“Another time, honey.” She stroked her baby girl’s hair. “Today I need some more sleep. When you come back, you and I will bake a pie, okay?”

“Okay.” Charlotte agreed. “I love you.” She reached out and kissed the Queen.

“And I you.” She smiled, kissing her daughter in response. “Go show dad your puzzle.”

***

“Mom is cooking lasagna.” Gideon concluded as he stepped into the hallway, sniffing.

“Seems like it.” Gold agreed. “Help Charlotte undress and I'll go see how mom is.”

He quickly took off his shoes, took off his coat and went into the kitchen.

The Queen stood by the stove, stirring apple slices with syrup in a frying pan.

“What are you doing here?” Gold went to his wife and hugged her from the back.

“Most likely I'm cooking dinner.” She reached out to kiss him.

“There’s no use.” He kissed her back. “Go lie down. I'll do everything.”

“It seems I have come back to life.” The Queen turned to her husband. “Where have you been for so long?”

“Well, we went to the cinema, then walked around a bit and then went to the cinema again.” He put his arm around her waist.

“That is, in the end, there were no losers left?” Regina specified.

“None left.” Gold confirmed. “But we watched the story of Rapunzel first, so Charlotte still got her prize.”

“Did you have a good sleep?” She laid her hands on his shoulders.

“No, this plan failed.” He rubbed his cheek on her arm. “Every time I hope that they will just watch the cartoon but every time they go like this: "Oh dad, look !!!"”

“Well, it's good that you don’t lose hope.” The Queen grinned, kissing his nose.

The children, simultaneously appearing in the kitchen, started speaking.

“Mom, can I have lasagna?”

“Mom, you promised that we would make a cake when we arrived!”

“You can and will.” She looked up from her husband and switched her gaze to the children. “Come here.” She nodded to Charlotte. “Look: now the apple syrup will turn into caramel and we’ll bake the tart taten. Get the dough out of the refrigerator; we’ll roll it out now.”

“What about the lasagna?” Gideon recalled.

“Dad will cut a piece for you now.” Regina turned back to her husband. “And for me, he’ll grate a couple of lemons on the smallest grater.”

“Well, here we go.” Gold sighed. “Maybe we can do without it this time?”

“Work hard!” The Queen smiled. “You just offered to cook dinner all by yourself.”

“I wouldn’t grate lemons for it.” He nevertheless unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and rolled them up to his elbows, looking around the cabinets and trying to remember where the grater was.

***

“Uncle David! Aunt Regina!” Gideon and Charlotte raced to the entrance hall upon hearing the bell. “Can I open it?! Can I?!”

“Only mom and dad open the door, you know that.” Gold, going to the door, gently removed the children from it. “And you always need to see first who is behind the door, okay?” He looked into the peephole and opened the door.

“See? This is Aunt Regina and Uncle David, as we said.” Charlotte said and immediately rushed to hug the Mayor.

“Hi, baby girl!” Regina squatted and kissed the girl on the cheek. “Hello, Gideon!” She reached out to the boy standing next to her and hugged him.

“Is Tali sleeping?” The boy looked into the sling on the Mayor’s chest.

“As you can see.” She smiled.

“She's so tiiiiny!” Charlotte continued.

“You were just the same recently.” Regina patted the girl on the shoulder. “We have a whole bag of presents for you, yes?” She turned to her husband who was standing behind her.

“Hold on!” He leaned over and handed to the siblings some large shiny packages.

“Wow!” Gideon peered into his. “It's such a huge track! Will you help me assemble it?” He looked at Stern.

“Well, I don't know if I can do it.” He smiled. “But I think Henry definitely can.”

“You are early.” The Queen appeared from the dining room. “I thought you wouldn’t arrive before eight.”

“We can go for a walk.” The Mayor shrugged, looking at her sister with a smile.

“Oh, no.” She went up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “You won’t leave here before tomorrow morning. David.” She reached for Stern.

“Hi.” He stroked her shoulder.

“Where are your older children?”, the Queen asked.

“Inspecting the Christmas lights and decorations in your yard.” Stern waved his hand vaguely. “Very impressive, by the way.”

“Yes.” The hostess smiled. “Papa was on a roll this year.”

“Well, see, everyone likes it.” Gold kissed her on the cheek. “You’re the only one that grumbles about it being too elaborate.”

“I’ve already agreed with everyone.” She stroked his hand. “Oh, and here are the children!” She nodded, looking over Stern's shoulder.

“Esther!” Charlotte rejoiced. “Will you play with us today?”

“Of course!” The girl in the gray coat who entered the hallway, smiled at the little girl. “I haven’t seen you for only two months and you have grown so much already!”

“Let’s go, I'll show you our new game room!” the little girl was enthused.

“Let’s go.” Esther agreed.

“And take Henry with you.” Stern pulled up his stepson, who was standing on the threshold. “Here, a young man needs your help with a racing track.” He smiled at the teen.

“No problem.” Henry cast a quick glance at Esther, who, having removed her fur coat, straightened her hair. “Regina, grandfather.” He kissed both of the Golds. “I'm so glad to see you!”

“Yes, we are too.”, the Queen answered automatically and she and her husband looked at each other, bewildered.

***

“The bedding is all in there.” The Queen opened a cabinet at the guest bedroom in front of Regina. “Choose yourself what you like best. There is one big blanket, there are separate ones. You can generally figure it out yourselves.”

“We’ll try.” The Mayor smiled, hugging her sister by the shoulders. “Thank you for the dinner.”

“Thank you for coming.” She hugged her back. “Do you have everything for Tali?”

“Yes.” Regina nodded.

“Good.” The Queen breathed. “Of course, with the current state of my memory, I haven’t prepared anything for her.”

“It's alright.” She kissed her sister. “You should go to bed too.”

“I still have to check how the children are.”

“Don't worry about them, our children will lay them down.” the Mayor assured her. “Did you show them their rooms, by the way?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Then you don’t have to worry about anything else, rest.”

After kissing her sister and wishing Stern good night, the Queen went down to the living room, carefully glancing into the nursery on her way, where Henry and Esther were reading a story with two roles to Charlotte and Gideon. Gideon was already asleep and Charlotte looked with interest at the readers, who obviously enjoyed reading as much as their listeners. Henry read for Prince Charming and Esther for Snow White.

In the living room, she sat on the sofa by the fireplace, next to Gold, who was slowly sipping cognac.

“What a wonderful miracle, huh?” He hugged his wife, still looking at the fire.

“Well, I can already see the reason for this miracle.” She leaned against her husband.

“Truly?” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Can't you see it yourself?” Regina was surprised. “He is in love with Esther and is struggling to make a good impression on her father. The light of true love revealed his true face.” She laughed.

“David is unlikely to be happy about this.” Gold twirled thoughtfully his glass in his hand. “This is clearly not the boy he would like for his girl.”

“Esther has her own mind.” The Queen shrugged. “And she will decide for herself anyway.”

“Technically, she is his sister.” Her husband remarked.

“Step sister by marriage.”, Regina retorted. “So nature isn’t an opposing factor to anything here. And whether David will resist this, depends on Henry and Esther. Although, frankly, I don’t see the same enthusiasm on her part. But who knows. Maybe this will make Henry work even harder. So what will happen next - we'll see.”

“We'll see.” Gold agreed.

He unfastened his waistcoat and comfortably sat on the couch, clutching his wife.

“You know, we still have a little time until morning when I turn back into a pumpkin.” She slid a hand over his stomach, hugging him. “We should take advantage since our many children are busy with each other.”

“Perhaps.” Gold ran a hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “Come here.” He pulled her by the chin and gave a gentle and long kiss.

“Here or at the bedroom?”, the Queen said looking up at him.

“Here.” He sat her on his lap. “And at the bedroom. And maybe somewhere else along the way...”


	37. Chapter 37

“Are you sure you've read it yourself?” Gold looked at Trenton over his glasses, looking up from the text.

He was sitting at the Mayor’s office and looking through the contracts Trenton had to put his signature on.

“Here, look.” He ran a finger along the line. “Including” should be replaced by “namely,” or at least “such as.”

“Come on, that's the standard form.” Trenton dismissed. “Everybody writes it like that.”

“Well, if everybody does it then sign it.” Gold nodded. “I just want to draw your attention to the fact that according to this contract you will be obliged to the contractor in any case, regardless of whether the work is completed or not. If the work cannot be completed for any reason, you will always be the one at fault.” He made an amendment and went deeper into reading again. “And here there should be a comma”.

“Are grammatical issues important too?” Trenton smiled.

“It's not a grammatical issue.” He put in a comma and handed it to the Mayor. “Now read it again: first with a comma and then without.”

“Indeed.” he said thoughtfully. “How do you see all that?”

“Apparently, because I never wrote or signed “standard forms”. Gold smiled. “Small details are very important, because any small detail in the contract is a loophole: either yours or not yours. It can be signed written like that. Anything else you need me to check?”

“A lot.” His conversationalist turned his head, flexing his neck. “Would you like a break for coffee?”

“No, I don't.” He looked at his watch. “Regina has already been alone with the children for half a day. They have already tortured her, probably. So let's finish quickly.”

“Is she feeling unwell?” Trenton asked sympathetically.

“Well...” He shook his palm. “Come on, what else is left there?”

His phone rang.

“And here is Regina.” He walked away from the desk and answered the call. “Yes Dear?”

“Hi Dear!” Hook's voice ringed in the receiver. “Guess where I am now?”

Gold froze on the spot, instantly turning pale.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” The pirate asked through a pause.

“How did you get into my house?” Finally, his conversationalist exhaled.

“Together with Regina, of course!” Hook grinned. “Women generally find it difficult to resist my charm and it is completely impossible to resist my charm along with my pistol.” he continued mockingly. “You are well settled. Nice house, beautiful wife. Absolutely charming children, it’s even hard to believe that they are yours. Are you listening? I can’t understand if the sound disappears all the time on the phone or simply on your end.”

Gold went to the window, opened it, leaned on the windowsill and took a few deep breaths.

“If anything happens to them…” He began.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Killian interrupted. “You will do a lot of terrible things to me later! But that will be later and I can put a hole in your wife’s head right now. So you're not in a position to threaten me. Cool down for a while and I'll call you back in a couple of minutes.”

Gold put the phone next to him, on the windowsill, slowly pulled the tie from his neck and threw it on the floor.

“Give me your phone.” He, without looking back, held out his hand to Trenton.

“What happened?” He quickly approached Gold.

“It happened.” He looked at the phone in the mayor’s hand. “Please call our captain.”

“From the police station?” Trenton specified.

“No, from the yacht!” Gold answered irritably.

He turned back to the window and, resting his hands on the windowsill, exhaled slowly.

“Have you dialed?” He asked softly. “Give it to me. Thanks.”

“Howard?” The voice of the chief of police was heard on the receiver.

“Why didn't I know that Killian Jones escaped from prison?” Gold asked without any emotion in his voice.

“What?” He was confused. “Who is this?”

“Why. Did I not know. That Killian Jones escaped?” Gold repeated, pressing on the words, dividing them more clearly. “Wasn't he put on the wanted list? How did you not know that?”

“Mr. Gold?” The captain asked with uncertainty. “Don’t worry, he will return to prison in the immediate future, several hundreds of people from different stations were sent to search for him”.

“You can stop searching, captain.” His voice was even colder. “I already found him. He is in my house. With my wife and my children. He was waiting for her near the porch, going unnoticed by anyone. What else do you want to tell me now about how you are diligently looking for him?”

Silence hung in the receiver.

“I'm waiting,” Gold reminded him. “The man who threatened my family escaped from prison. And came freely into my house. How could this have happened?”

His phone rang again.

“I’m listening to you carefully.” He answered the call, returning the mayor’s phone to its owner.

“Finally!” Hook was delighted. “I hope you're ready for negotiations?”

“What do you want?” Gold asked calmly.

“Hmmm” The pirate thought. “On one hand, I would like for you to finally seriously suffer somehow. And now, when I look at your beautiful wife, my hook is starting to itch. Although it’s a pity to spoil such a magnificent body. On the other hand, what will I get from this except from a bullet in the forehead at the exit of the house? So we’ll settle in a different way: I get Emma, freedom, a house, some money and you get back your wife and children, unharmed. In my opinion, a reasonable exchange.”

“And how will I get you Emma?” Gold still asked calmly.

“Well, this is your problem.” Hook sighed. “I believe in you! You can do it! Think more about your wife and children and everything will work out.” He disconnected.

For a while, Gold silently looked out the window.

“We need Miss Swan.” He finally turned to Trenton. “Not for long.”

***

“Mom, who is this?” Gideon watched with interest the hook on the man’s hand, that stood next to them in the hallway.

“This is our friend, dad’s and mine.” His mother smiled placidly, taking off her coat. “We haven’t seen him for a long time but now he has come to visit. His name is Killian and he is a detective. See, he has a real gun.”

“Wow! Can I hold it?” The boy asked the pirate.

“No, darling.” The Queen answered instead of him. “Detectives are not allowed to give their guns to anyone. Killian will be fired from the police if he does that.”

“And how did you get this hook?” Charlotte asked. “You're just like Captain Hook from “Peter Pan”.”

“You better ask your dad about this.” He grinned.

“Uncle Killian is a policeman.” Regina repeated. “He lost his hand protecting people.”

“Why ask dad?” The girl became interested.

“Because your dad also knows this story and Killian doesn’t like to tell it, he is too modest. But he was a real hero!” The Queen answered, dragging both children behind her into the living room. “How about cartoons and popcorn while I have a talk with Killian?” She smiled at the kids once again.

“Yes! Yes!” They were enthused.

“What cartoon shall we watch?” She asked.

***

“And you could be a more welcoming hostess and offer a guest a drink, eh, love?” The pirate hooked the Queen’s shoulder, who was crouched on the sofa in the living room, at a distance from the children.

“You won't get it.” She answered dryly, not paying any attention to his gesture.

“You know, I might not be so sweet after all.” Jones frowned.

“If you could, you wouldn’t be.” Regina said indifferently, not looking at him.

“And you’re holding off very well.” Hook leaned toward the Queen and whispered in her ear, slightly touching it with his lips.

“I'm not afraid of you.” She didn’t move.

“That’s a mistake, love!” He straightened up and, going around the sofa, sat next to her. “It’s not a fact that you’ll survive.”

“We'll see about that.” She answered calmly.

***

“When are they bringing her?” Gold went to Trenton.

The street was cordoned off by the police and many onlookers crowded around the fence. Residents of neighboring houses, as recommended by the police, closed the curtains tightly. Everything on this street froze and everyone was frozen in suspense.

“They're coming.” The mayor lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. “But it isn’t clear when they will be here. There is a multi-kilometer traffic jam on the highway which they can hardly overcome.”

They stood next to one of the police cars that surrounded Gold's house.

“They had to have made a decision faster and not wait for evening traffic jams.” He automatically twisted the wedding ring on his finger. “How many hours is he there already?”

“The police are ready for the raid.” Trenton looked at the police captain who was standing nearby. “If something goes wrong…”

“My children are there!” Gold interrupted him. “And Regina! There will be no raid. He must get out of there by himself.”

After a while, the captain approached them.

“They arrived already.”, he said. “Call Jones”.

From the jeep parked nearby, the two guards led Emma out and together they headed for the house.

“What's going on here?” Emma looked around bewildered.

“You'll see soon enough.” Gold, while dialing his wife’s number, took Miss Swan by the shoulders and led her towards the house. “As you can see, she is here.” He carefully watched the slight movement of the curtains in the living room. “There is a car at the porch, with money and the papers for your house in Storybrooke inside. I’ve completed my part of the deal”. 

“I see that not only she and the car are here. Get the police out.” Hook tried to say it as calmly as possible.

“Only when I see my wife and children.” He pressed Emma closer to him. “Otherwise, the deal is off.”

“Okay.” 

The curtain in the living room moved to one side and in the bright light from the window he saw Regina, still sitting on the sofa and the children dozing off next to her. She remained motionless, without turning her head toward the window, only barely noticeably stroking the kids.

“Seen enough?” The curtain closed again. “Now call your dogs back and get away from Emma.”

A few minutes later the street was empty, and Emma was left to stand in front of the porch alone. Gold stepped aside.

“Let’s go, love!” Hook nodded to the Queen.

“Where?” She asked blankly.

“You will remain with us for some time.” The pirate explained. “Until we end up in Storybrooke. Come on, get up!”

The Queen carefully, so as not to disturb the children, got up from the couch.

“Let’s go.” She nodded to him.

As they were leaving the house, Hook pressed her back to him.

“Emma!” He smiled at the blonde. “How glad I am to see you, love!”

“Killian.” Emma looked at Jones in horror. “What have you done?”

“Everything will be fine, honey.” The pirate winked at her. “Get in the car.” He nodded at the Ford parked near the porch.

“Killian…”

At that moment, red dots ran across both of them.

“Sir.” The voice came from the speaker from somewhere out of the darkness. “Let go of the woman and raise your hands so that we can see them.”

“I said get them out of here!” The pirate shouted, clutching himself to the door and the Queen closer to him, securing himself from snipers’ sight with her.

“Killian, no!” Emma stepped toward him. “Let her go! You have no chance. Look.” She waved her hand around the roofs. “You are surrounded: as soon as you take a step from the door, you will get a bullet in the back of the head.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Hook shook his head. “I will not give up! I've been going for too long! And now, when we are one step away from our happy ending, I will not back down!”

“You have to.” Miss Swan said with pity in her voice. “Look.” She spread her arms, looking at her full of red dots chest. “If you harm her, they will riddle both of us with bullets. Don’t do this, Killian. Let her go. You got yourself into a fight that you won’t win.”

“Emma.” He lowered his hands.

The Queen remained standing still.

“Sir, raise your hands slowly and put them behind your head.” The speaker turned on again.

“Do as they say.” Emma pleaded and knelt down, hands behind her head. “Please, Killian.”

After hesitating a couple more seconds, the pirate did the same. Everything immediately was set in motion. Nearby, people appeared in body armor out of nowhere and snapped handcuffs on the pirate’s and Emma’s wrists.

“Rumple.” The Queen hung on the neck of her arriving just in time husband and burst into tears.

“It's over.” He pressed her to him. “That's it, honey. It's over.” He picked up his falling wife. “It's over.”, he repeated, rocking her slightly and kissing her temple. “You are so smart! You did all fine!” He kissed her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks.

“I thought I would never see you again.” The Queen went limp in his arms.

***

“She'll be fine.” Stern gently patted Gold's shoulder, who was sitting next to the sleeping Regina. “This is the aftermath of a nervous overstrain. I'd leave her in the clinic for a couple more days, just to make sure everything is in order.”

“Good.” He nodded. “Where is your Regina? Why is she still not here?”

“She's about to be.” The doctor assured him. “I called her right away when you brought your wife.”

“Good.” Gold repeated.

He took a phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Mrs. Savage, I may have to stay in the hospital until the morning ... Yes ... Yes, thank you.” He disconnected.

After a while, the second Regina appeared in the ward.

“How is she?” She asked in a whisper, sitting down next to Gold.

“I think it’s best to have your husband fill you in.” He answered without looking back. “Sit with her. I need to leave, finish some things I have to do”.

“Things you have to do?” The woman was surprised. “What kind of “things you have to do” are there now? You are needed here! You need to be near Regina!” She continued indignantly.

“Who told you that you can interrogate me?” He jumped to his feet, lifting her after him. “Or give me advices?”

Regina staggered back under his gaze.

“Don’t forget yourself, dearie!” He jerked her down on a chair near the bed. “Sit and hold your sister's hand in case she wakes up before I return!”

***

“Mr. Gold.” The police captain rose to greet the person who entered his office, holding out his hand.

Leaving this attempt unattended, Gold sat down at the desk and motioned for the captain to do the same.

“Why is he still alive?” He asked coldly.

“What?” The captain didn’t understand.

“You heard my question.” Gold answered just as calmly.

“I heard it.” The policeman agreed. “But not sure I understood it.”

“Well, I’ll repeat it once again: why is Killian Jones still alive and not killed during his arrest?” The visitor looked warily at the captain.

“You saw yourself that he surrendered.” His conversationalist shrugged.

“So what?” Gold spoke quietly and without any emotion in his voice. “Only we have seen this, your people and poor Miss Swan, whom no one will believe.”

“They will.” The policeman nodded. “And my people won’t be silent. Don’t worry, he will go to another prison now, in solitary confinement, where he will be securely locked.”

“No, that doesn't suit me.” Gold grimaced. “He was already securely locked, and we both saw what came of it. He should stop being a threat to my family once and forever”.

“What do you want to say?” The captain tightened up.

“I want to say that prison is not the safest place.” Gold continued. “Various unpleasant things happen there. Fights, stabbing, conflicts with wards. Some people can’t stand a life in captivity, especially after an unsuccessful attempt to escape.”

“And why did you decide…” His conversationalist thought for a second, choosing his words. “To discuss this with me?”

“And with who else would I?” Gold asked without changing his tone. “My wife almost died today because of your oversight. Don’t you think you have to pay for this? However, I think it’s not difficult for you to find the right people. So it won’t be such a big cost.”

“On the contrary.”, the captain said. “The favor you are asking for is pretty serious. By providing it, I’m risking not only my career, but my own freedom. What would interest me that much so that I agree?”

“In another case, I would say money but now it’s exactly your career.” He paused. “You really want to leave this place and not patrol again in Bronx, right?”

“I think you overestimate the possibilities that friendship of yours with the Mayor gives you.” The policeman smiled.

“And I think you greatly underestimate my own capabilities.” Gold said coldly.

“No need to threaten me.”, he said, not so confidently.

“I am not threatening you.”, he objected. “I’m warning you. You’ve probably guessed in theory that it is much better to be friends with me than to be enemies. And now you have the opportunity to test this in practice.”

The captain was silent. He felt uneasy at the sight of his visitor and his icy calmness. The threat posed by this person was felt physically, causing his neck and jaw muscles to tighten.

“You have nothing to scare me with.” The policeman made his last attempt.

“You know, captain, I am a collector.” He leaned on the table, carefully looking at his conversationalist. “I don’t want to say that I collect gossip, but I like to know who lives nearby and to always methodically collect information about people. I know all about your extra earnings and your favorite pastimes. But most importantly, I can prove it. So I will ask only once, who do you want to be: friend or foe? Notice, I am rendering you myself an unprecedented favor. You were lucky it all ended well. I am ready to forget that my wife was under attack because of you. For just one small favor. So, what do you say, captain?” 

“I say that in a few hours he will be placed in Rikers and tomorrow morning they will bring him out of there.” The policeman answered without looking at the conversationalist.

“That's for sure?” Gold burned him with his eyes.

“For sure.” He nodded, avoiding his gaze.

“Well, I’m glad we have an agreement.” He got up and headed for the exit. “Have a good evening, Captain.” He smiled back at him at the door.

***

“Rumple!” The Queen raised herself on her elbows to greet her husband who had entered the room. “Where have you been?”

“It was necessary to take care of some formalities at the police station.” He quickly went up to her and, sitting on the edge of the bed, took her hand and kissed it. “How are you?”

“Much better now.” She reached for him and he pressed herself on him. “Where are the children?” Regina laid her head on his shoulder.

“Sleeping at home.” He ran a hand through her hair. “Mrs. Savage is with them.”

“Good.” the Queen sighed. “It seems they didn’t have much time to get scared”.

“They didn’t.” Gold smiled. “Thanks to you, they didn't even understand what happened. By the way, you too can go home already.” He turned to the second Regina.

She wanted to say something, but, upon looking at him, changed her mind.

“Good night.” She smiled at her sister.

“Thank you for sitting with me.” The Queen smiled back.

For a while, she and her husband sat in silence. He only rocked her slightly, still holding her tight.

“It was terrible.” Regina finally spoke, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

“I know.” He gently stroked her back. “But it’s over already. Forever and ever”.

“Who knows?” She hugged him, clinging to his chest. “He already escaped once. What if this happens again? And after all, he will be released someday. And he will be obsessed with revenge.”

“You shouldn’t worry about him. He will never be released.” He gently laid her back in bed and covered her with a blanket. “And he will never escape.”

“Why?” The Queen tensed. “What did you do?”

“What had to had been done many years ago.” He paused. “This is going to be over tonight. Forever and ever.”

“No,” The Queen looked stunned at her husband. “Stop this. Call off those you sent.”

“Seriously?” Gold asked suppressing irritation. “Do you feel sorry for Hook?”

“It's not about him.”, the Queen objected. “The point is you. You are not like that, you will regret it.” 

“That’s okay.” Gold shrugged a little. “Regrets are a normal part of life. But I can be sure that he will never touch you again. And with this knowledge, I will sleep peacefully, in spite of all the regrets that I had, have now and will have in the future.”

“Rumple.” She took his hand.

“No need to debate with me, Regina.” He squeezed her palm, looking into her eyes. “Not in this situation. You could have died today! And I did what needed to be done. You know that yourself. And my theoretical future regrets make no difference. Or do you want to meet him again?”

Regina was silent.

“Don't worry.” He gently stroked her cheek. “Get it all out of your head. There is no other way out. He is not the harmless Charmings. You said it yourself: even if he doesn’t escape again, someday he will be released. And it is still unknown what may happen to me by that time. So I need to take care of everything in advance”.

For a while, both were silent.

“Will you stay?” Regina asked quietly.

“Of course.” Gold nodded. “Move over.”

He took off his jacket and lay down beside her. The Queen clung to her husband, settling in his arms.

“I love you.” He gently kissed her temple.

“And I you.” She laid her head on his arm, her nose buried in the bend of his elbow.

“Sleep.” He held her tightly on him. “And don’t think about anything. Everything is fine.”

***

“Regina.” Gold touched his wife’s shoulder lightly. “Regina.” He called again quietly.

“What happened?” The Queen asked through a dream.

“Call someone.” He paused. “It's difficult to breathe.”

“Call who?” The Queen was bewildered, but after a couple of seconds, realizing his words, she jumped to her feet.

Turning on the lamp near the bed, she looked in dismay at the pale Gold, who was lying on his back, looking at the ceiling.

“Are you in any pain?” She inquired.

“My head hurts a lot.” Her husband grimaced. “And I can’t turn it around - everything blurs right away.”

“Okay, don’t turn it for now.” She nervously patted his hand and pressing the nurse’s call button, ran to the stuff room.

Stern was sitting at the standby doctor's desk and was filling out some papers.

“It's good that you're still here.” The Queen sighed with relief.

“Well, it seems I’ll be here until morning.” Stern sighed back, not looking up from his activity. “You know, often the operation itself is not as complicated as writing a protocol and I have about five more of these. What are you doing here?” He finally realized. “And why are you barefoot?” he said as he looked up from the papers and observed Regina.

“Let’s go! We need you!” She answered shortly.

“Okay.” He approached her quickly and they went back to her room together. “Is something wrong with Gold?” Stern asked as he walked in.

“He says he has difficulty breathing and his head hurts.” The Queen took him by the arm. “Let's go faster, please.”

The nurse was already there with all the necessary equipment.

“Why are you scaring your wife?” Stern smiled at Gold, taking the cardiogram from the nurse.

“Don't exaggerate now.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Tell me better what’s wrong.”

“Well, let's find out now.” He carefully looked at the cardiac waves. “Jenny, who's on duty today?” He turned to the nurse.

“Dr. Avery.”, she answered. “I already called him.”

“I didn’t mean the attendant on duty, we don’t need him here.” He returned the cardiogram to her, looked at the pressure numbers that she had already measured and put on a stethoscope. “I need a cardiologist and a neurologist.” He silently listened to Gold for a while, looking intensely to the side. “Although in fact, I think, we do not need them either. But let them look just in case. Call them both.”

“I think you’ve already figured out everything.” Gold grinned languidly.

“It seems to me, as well.” Stern nodded, taking the stethoscope out of his ears. ”You have the quite expected hypertensive crisis after all that has happened. That's my fault. It was essential to leave you under observation since this evening.”

“Everything was fine in the evening.” Gold objected. “And I had other things to do.”

“Of course everything was fine.” David agreed. “You were running on adrenaline and you didn't feel anything in a natural way. But when you relaxed, the pressure soared”.

“How dangerous it is to relax.” Gold sighed.

“It is dangerous to neglect your incident.” Stern made a few notes on the patient’s chart. “But in the evening it was scary to approach you, to be honest. Even Regina was frightened.”

“Tell her I'm sorry.” He looked at Stern. “And indeed I am. She got under my wrath for nothing, just bad timing.”

“Yes, we guessed it.” Stern smiled. “Don’t worry.” He began writing a schedule on the chart. “Look.” He showed the notes to the nurse, pointing his finger at one of the lines. “You’ll put this now in a double dose and then as it is written. Oh, Dr. Avery.”, he rejoiced at the resident who had entered. “You're right on time!”

“I couldn’t have come faster.” The resident was confused. “I had another patient.”

“I believe you.” Stern nodded. “But you can still do a lot of useful things. Over there, in the corridor, I can see from here that there’s a completely vacant gurney. Be a friend and bring it to me. While I’ll just write what I need here.” He made a few more notes on the chart. “And what kind of patient did Dr. Avery have?” He glanced at the nurse after the resident left.

“Well, I would say she is more of an intern than a patient.” The nurse grinned.

“Well, I hope at least she was pleased with him today.” Stern laughed. “Thank you, doctor, you are free to go.” He nodded to the resident who entered with the gurney. “Tomorrow come to my office at six o’clock. Let’s free your wife’s bed.” He turned to Gold.

“It seems we have space for both of as here.” He barely noticeably shrugged.

“Well, a classy and high-tech ward is waiting for you in our intensive care unit.” He moved the gurney to the bed and held out his hand. “You will like it.”

“I don't want to.” Gold grimaced. “It's sleeping again, getting tangled in wires, everything beeps around, the light doesn’t turn off.”

“You know, if I were you, I wouldn't keep bothering my wife.” Stern glanced at Regina. “She is still silent, but is fed up already and her pupils are wider than the iris.”

“Seriously, Rumple.” The Queen said as softly as possible. “Listen to David. Let me help you. And I will accompany you.”

She helped him lie down on the gurney along with Stern.

“Put on your slippers first.” Stern nodded to the Queen’s still bare feet. “Then you will see him off.”

***

“Regina, go to bed.” Gold looked at his wife, curled up in a chair near his bed.

“You can turn your head already.” The Queen smiled. “That's good”.

“Everything is fine in general.” Gold assured her. “No need to sit here.”

“I can sleep here, as well.” She wrapped herself tightly in a plaid. “It’s convenient for me here. And I feel calm.

“But I don’t.” her husband sighed. “Honey, go to bed. I won’t run away. I will still be here in the morning.”

“You fall asleep and then I’ll leave.” The Queen promised.

***

“She slept there all night?” Regina asked her husband, looking in from the window of the room at her sister sleeping in an armchair.

“Well how to pick her up from there?” Stern shrugged. “It’s ok. She’s fells better there.”

“How is Gold?” She turned to him.

“It is not clear yet.” He peered at the numbers on the monitor. “Now he is on sleeping pills and everything seems to be normal. Let's see what happens on his way off.”

“Okay, I'll go to the children.” She quickly kissed his cheek. “I have to let Mrs. Savage go and take them to the kindergarten.”

“Go on.” Stern nodded. “Will Mrs.Savage come again tonight?” He asked.

“No, Jessica will pick them up in the evening. She will take them for a couple of days while they are both in the hospital.” She nodded towards the Golds.

“And what are you going to tell them?” Stern asked anxiously.

“I don't know.” Regina shrugged. “That mom and dad left on business?”

***

“Hey, how are you?” Regina went to the Queen, who was standing in the intensive care corridor with a cup of coffee.

“Okay.”, she answered without looking back. “How are children? Did you take them to the kindergarten?” She continued to look in from the window of the room, near which she stood.

“They are a little surprised that mom and dad left on business without warning them.” She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “But everything is fine with them. And in the evening they will be picked up by Jessica, so they won’t be bored.”

“Good.” The Queen nodded.

“Listen.” Regina began hesitantly. “I need to show you something.”

“Go on, show me.”, the Queen agreed, still not turning to her.

“It's about Hook.” She took out a newspaper from her purse and handed it to the Queen.

“Wow, how quickly information spreads.” She looked over the article. “At night, some guy hangs himself in his cell and in the morning they are already talking about it in the newspapers.” She returned the paper to her sister.

“His story attracted a lot of attention.” Regina shrugged. “He is the first to have escaped from a specially guarded prison in the last hundred and fifty years.”

“It would be better if they wrote that he escaped from prison.” The Queen grinned sadly. “Then when he escaped.”

“They are forbidden to publicize such information.” Regina put the newspaper back into her purse. “Until the criminal is caught, journalists have no right to write about his escape without special permission from the police. Wait.” She suddenly looked carefully at her sister. “You are not at all surprised. Did you know about this?”

“I don’t understand what you are talking about.”, she answered calmly.

“It was Gold, right?” She didn’t let go.

“Gold?” the Queen snapped. “Gold, if you suddenly didn’t notice, spent this night in intensive care, thanks to Hook! And so many medicines were poured into him last night that would be enough for a small pharmacy somewhere in Storybrooke! So if you came to discuss the great legend and the unfortunate fate of Hook and feel sorry for him, then this is not for me! The only thing I regret is that I didn’t strangle him with my own hands!” She blurted out with undisguised spite.

“Well, okay.” She took her sister by the elbows and sat down on a nearby couch. “Let's sit down and calm down. Breathe deeper. Everything is fine.”

“But I'm calm!” Without changing her tone, the Queen dropped her hands away from her.

“That's for sure.” Regina nodded. “You’re shaking all over but everything is just fine, you’re not nervous at all. I understand completely.” She stroked her knee. “Let's forget about my question. Assume I didn’t ask it. You just don’t worry, breathe deeper. Everything is fine; I'm on your side.” She slowly stroked her hands. “I'm on your side.”

“I think it shouldn’t have gotten into the press either.” The Queen calmed down a little and looked at her sister. “It is necessary to have this circulation withdraw from sale. Can you do this as an assistant Mayor?” She specified.

“Probably yes.” Regina nodded. “Not sure, but I'll try.”

“Good.” Mrs. Gold stroked her shoulder and, rising from the couch, looked again in from the ward window. “I'll go sit with him. Thank you for helping.” She kissed her sister quickly and went to her husband.

Regina stood for some time in the corridor, watching the Queen gently kiss the hand of her sleeping husband, lean her forehead against his palm and kissing it again.

“Hello, Howard.” She dialed the number and, pressing the phone to her ear, walked quickly down the corridor, “I need help. No, we’ve already agreed on everything with Jessica. This is different. I'll be right there.”


	38. Chapter 38

“Interrupt the pregnancy?” The Queen looked in amazement at Dr. Medisson opposite her. “This is absolutely impossible.”

The windows in Catherine’s office were covered with thick roller blinds, so despite the sunny day, the light was dim. Gold, sitting next to his wife, automatically took her hand, still staring tensely at the owner of the office.

“Regina, you don’t understand.” The doctor shook her head. “The syndrome we are talking about is not a disease that she can live with. And the results we have of the screening for risks give us an almost one hundred percent guarantee that she has it.” 

“So, we still have a chance the girl will be healthy.” Mrs. Gold said.

“It's very small.” Catherine sighed. “Ninety percent, we are dealing with a serious genetic pathology, in the presence of which the girl will live only for a couple of years. And these won’t be the best years in hers and your life”.

“But still, there remains as much as ten percent that everything will be just fine.”, the Queen objected. “And I'm sure that will be as such. How can my child be sick at all? I don’t smoke, I eat right, I do sports…” 

“All this has practically no effect on genetic defects.” Her conversationalist stopped her. “Mostly, it’s the age of the parents that’s important. Our body accumulates defective genes over the years and the older you are, the greater the risk that these defective genes to be passed on to the child.”

“Oh really?” Regina grinned nervously. “In my previous pregnancy, I was also not twenty years old and everything was perfect with me.” 

“And this was a great luck.” The doctor nodded. “At your age, pregnancy is a lottery. Sometimes you get a lucky ticket, sometimes you don’t. Regina, you are forty years old. And your husband even older.” She glanced at Gold. “Besides, you have a negative rhesus factor. You need to be prepared for the fact that each pregnancy of yours will have high risks.” 

“Each?” the Queen specified. “But tell me, Catherine, taking into account all the introductory ones: considering our age, considering that I have a negative rhesus factor, that with each new pregnancy, as you yourself explained to me now, I accumulate anti-Rhesus antibodies that interfere with the normal development of pregnancy and so on - what are the chances I can become pregnant and bear a child again?” 

“Well, there's always a chance.” Catherine said evasively. “There are stimulating techniques, there are IVF treatments…”

“Which are unlikely to take root.” Regina interrupted. “So the answer is no. I will not give up this chance. What do you think?” She turned to her husband.

“Is there no way to find out for sure?” He looked at the doctor.

“We can conduct an invasive examination.” Medisson nodded. “It will give a more accurate answer together with an expert ultrasound. Again, this won’t be one hundred percent but ninety-nine and nine accurate. Allthough this will only be possible after the twentieth week. Until this time, we won’t be able to conduct an ultrasound evaluation.”

“That’s great!” The Queen was enthused. “So we wait a couple of months and find out for sure. What are we talking about now then?” 

“Regina.” The doctor began cautiously. “You have to understand, the chances the risks of this screening not to be confirmed are very few. A late termination of pregnancy will be incomparably more traumatic than it would be now. At twenty-odd weeks you’ll have to go through an artificial birth. It will be long, difficult, all this time you will be conscious, giving birth to an unviable child. Not to mention all the possible complications that may arise. Stimulated labor is always unpredictable, especially at your age. Massive atonic bleeding with DIC may develop, in which the blood stops clotting - this is a life-threatening condition. And the recovery process after it will also be long and complicated; it won’t be easy to start the normal functioning of the hormonal system again after we interrupt the pregnancy in the middle. Interruption will be safer in the early stages.

“What about the girl?” Regina asked. “Will it be painful for her? In the middle of the pregnancy.

“No.” her conversationalist shook her head, “I don’t think so. With such a diagnosis, its cerebral context will not yet be formed by this time.”

“Well, then the decision is obvious,” the Queen nodded. “We are waiting for the twentieth week.”

“Regina, you don’t understand.” Catherine repeated.

“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand.”, she interrupted. “We have wanted this baby from the day our first daughter was born. And three years after her birth, we hadn’t succeeded yet. And now, when I was finally able to get pregnant again, you suggest that I terminate the pregnancy only because the girl in theory might be unhealthy? No. I don’t care how hard it will be. Our daughter should have a chance.” She looked at her husband.

“I think we should discuss this in private.” Gold said uncertainly, slowly stroking her hand. “Catherine, we listened and understood everything, we will communicate our decision later on.” He nodded to the doctor.

“What can we possibly discuss in this situation?” The Queen boiled.

“Regina, please, not here.”, he said calmly. “Let's talk at home.” He got up and held out his hand.

After a little pause, she silently got up and went with her husband towards the exit.

“Seriously, what else could be the answer?” She asked her husband quietly in the corridor.

“Let's just not rush.”, he answered evasively. “We don’t need to decide right this second, we can think it over calmly.”

“Think about what?” Regina did not let it go.

“We have ten minutes to drive home.” He took his wife by the shoulders. “We’ll talk calmly there.”

“Okay.” She fell silent again and they spent the rest of the way in silence.

Not managing to get the key into the lock the first time, Gold finally unlocked the door, letting the Queen go forward.

“Don’t worry so ahead of time.” Regina turned to her husband after he took off her fur coat. “We need to wait only two months, and then, I'm sure it will turn out that she’s okay.” She hugged his neck. “Just don't think about it yet.”

“I'm not sure we should wait.” He freed himself gently from her hands and went into the living room.

Taking a bottle of whiskey and a glass from the mantelpiece, he poured half a glass and drank it in one gulp.

“But you heard Catherine.” The Queen followed him. “Nothing will change for the girl during this time. In any case, it won’t be painful for her. Not now, not in two months. We are not risking anything.”

“Not risking anything.” Gold nodded, pouring himself whiskey again. “Besides the fact that you can bleed to death.”

“Oh, stop it.” Regina smiled, sitting down on the sofa. “What makes you think so?”

“Didn't you listen to Catherine at all?” He warily looked at his wife.

“She's just playing it safe.” She shrugged. “Of course, it’s much easier for her to do everything now, when there are no risks, than to shoulder on the extra work and extra responsibility. Seriously, Rumple, how can one die due to bleeding in a hospital full of donated blood?”

“Because of bleeding during which the blood stops clotting.” Gold specified. 

“Well, anyway, it's probably not fatal.” the Queen sighed. “Plus, what are the chances that this will happen to me? This is one case out of a thousand or ten thousand. Or how much there are.”

“You know, I don't want to find out.” He turned away from his wife. “We need to interrupt the pregnancy now.”

“I don’t believe my ears.” Regina gasped in shock. “Is it really you who’s saying that? The voice seems to be yours.”

“I don’t want you to go through all this, in general. Especially with such risks.” He slowly approached and sat next to her, holding her hand. “Yes, we wanted this child. But not all our desires come true. Sometimes you have to give something up. We already have two children. And this is twice as more as we could expect. We need to think sensibly. You heard Catherine: we have almost no chances. And in this situation, the risk is not justified.”

“You know, I don’t want to listen to all this.” The Queen grimaced, pulling out her palm. “And I still can't believe that it’s you who’s saying it. Seriously. Wash your face with cold water, sleep a little – come back to yourself somehow. Because what you are saying is simply unbelievable. How can you even suggest that?”

“Regina.” Gold paused, head down.

“Okay, I'm sorry.” She put her arm around his shoulders, nuzzling his neck.

He hugged her tightly in response.

“You understand yourself that we have no choice,” Regina continued. “Neither I nor you - none of us can simply abandon this girl. This is something we definitely won’t cope with. Never. For the rest of our lives, we will think that she had a chance, which we deprived her from. It will destroy us both. Our family. Everything.”

“No, that isn’t so.” Gold objected.

“You know that is so.” She slowly kissed his temple. “None of us will ever forgive this: neither ourselves nor each other. Everything will be fine, though.” She added after a pause. “Don’t wind yourself up. Nothing has happened yet.” 

***

Opening the door with her own key and entering the house, Regina Stern stared at Gold in surprise, who was bent with a rag over the baseboard in the living room.

“What are you doing?” She asked, taking off her shoes.

“What does it look like?” Gold asked without turning around.

“Well, I don’t even know.” The woman went into the living room. “Considering that you have a cleaning lady on Tuesday and Thursday, and today is exactly Thursday, I find it difficult to answer. Why are you rubbing the baseboard?”

“Because she never does.” He finally straightened up and turned to his conversationalist, straightening his shoulders. “Just like she never wipes the water faucets dry. Some kind of selective amnesia.”

“Perhaps you should change your cleaning lady.”, she said.

“It will be so.” The conversationalist nodded. “If Regina sees dust on the baseboard and stains on the water faucets. And since she has already fired two of them, I can already imagine what it will be like looking for a new one. It’s much easier to wipe off dust and water residues myself.”

“I see.” The deputy Mayor grinned. “I brought you some more work here.” She took out a thick folder of papers from her briefcase.

“And how long did it take you to collect them?” Gold asked, looking around the folder.

“You won’t believe it, not at all.” Regina laid the documents on the table. “Summertime, time to renew city contracts.”

“When do you need them?” He asked.

“Well ... Yesterday.” His conversationalist smiled.

“Who would doubt it.” Gold sighed.

“Maybe I can help with anything?” Regina asked.

“You can.” He nodded. “Wipe the baseboard here and in the dining room.” He handed her a rag. “And every faucet you find.”

“I can't say I meant exactly that.” She nevertheless took a rag.

“You can go to Regina and entertain her somehow until I finish the contracts and go back to the baseboards.” Gold shrugged.

“No!” She raised her hands. “The last time was enough for me, I'm afraid to approach her. It's like walking in a minefield. Everything annoys her. I don’t know how you can stand it.” 

“Well, unlike Regina, nothing annoys me, so I'm fine.” Her conversationalist grinned. “And you should be more lenient. Three months of bed rest will wear anyone out. Be understanding.”

“That's what I am being.” Mrs. Stern assured him. “But I’m still scared to go near her again.”

“Okay, you know, you can do something else that’s useful.” He flipped through the document folder. “If you are already free today, it would be nice if you took the children from kindergarten and walked with them so that they would spend themselves out a bit so when they came home, they won’t jump around mom.”

“That’s a thing I can do.” she was enthused.

“And don't forget about the baseboard.” Gold nodded to her, heading for the stairs. “And about the faucets.”

Going up to the second floor, he stood in indecision for some time, choosing between the office and the bedroom, but in the end he went to the bedroom.

“How are you here?” He smiled at the Queen, who, lying in bed, thoughtlessly switched channels on the plasma screen.

“It's still the same.”, she answered without enthusiasm, turning off the TV. “Let's go for a walk? I had enough laying in bed for this morning.” 

“We'll go later.” He lay down beside her, kissing her temple. “It's still too hot now.”

“It’s always too hot for you.” the Queen grumbled.

“And for you, too.” Gold assured her. “Catherine is not insisting in vain on evening walks.” 

“Catherine wasn’t worth listening at all, from the start.” His wife sighed.

“Meaning?”, he asked.

“Meaning, if we hadn’t conducted any invasive examinations, now I wouldn’t have to lie down most of the time.”, the Queen clarified. “And we didn’t have to do any screenings. All the same: in the end, nothing was confirmed. Only our nerves were exhausted in vain.”

“Well, stop it.” He kissed her shoulder. “You know that one isn’t connected with the other.”

“Off course.” She nodded. “How could I forget? I’m just forty years old and I have a predisposition to cervical insufficiency, that’s the whole point. And the fact that a couple of days before it showed up, Catherine was picking at me with a hefty needle for half an hour had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

“Don’t start.” The husband gently stroked her hand. “Subsequence does not indicate consequence.”

“Yes, yes.” Regina said wearily. “I remember. It's just forty years.”, she repeated. “Why am I talking to you at all? And why did you come at all? To remind me of the forty years?” 

“No.” Gold answered calmly. “I have come to lie with you and read the contracts of the city hall for this year.” He showed her the document folder. “I will finish reading and then we’ll go for a walk.”

“Get to your reading in your office.” The Queen turned on her side, turning away from her husband.

“I don’t want in the office, I want here.” He slid his hand under the covers, hugging his wife. “Where are the stockings?” He asked, running his fingers over her thigh.

“They annoy me.” She grimaced. “It’s hot, they’re uncomfortable and they put pressure on the legs”.

“Well, that’s the whole point.” Rummaging under the pillows, he pulled out the dense beige stockings with an open toe. “Give me your leg.” He smiled at his wife.

“Come on I won’t wear them!”, the Queen protested. “I don’t lie down all the time. I sometimes get up and go back and forth, still. Why do I need them?”

“Don't be capricious.” He lightly kissed her temple. “Stockings are needed, but now everything is annoying you.”

“You still can’t let it go, can you?” She threw back the blanket with a sigh, opening her legs.

“Well, no.” Gold agreed, pulling tight hosiery over her legs, not without difficulty. “Do you want me to bring you something in compensation?”, he asked after having finished this action. “Maybe you want some ice cream?”

“No, thank you.” The Queen grimaced. “I want to be able to go through the door after giving birth.” 

“It is unlikely one ice cream can affect this.”, her husband remarked. “You already eat almost nothing.”

“It's not over yet.” She grinned. “Next week we have another course of dexamethasone, after which I will eat everything that isn’t glued down, as it was the last time.”

“For two whole days?” Gold smiled, laying once more next to her.

“Yeah.” The Queen nodded absentmindedly. “Listen, something is wrong with her.” She put a hand on her stomach. “She has been doing some acrobatic numbers all morning. And now she started again.”

“Apparently, she was tired of lying in bed too.” Her husband shrugged. “We’ll go for a walk and she will calm down.” 

“Seriously.” Regina tensed. “I haven’t seen anything like this: neither with her, nor with Charlotte. She has already kicked inside me everything she can reach. Ten minutes of calmness and then she begins to flip over again. I think it's worth a trip to the clinic.”

“Anything for just not to lie down?” Gold squinted at her.

“See for yourself.” She took his hand and pressed it to her belly.

“Yes.” He put down the contract he had just begun to read. “Perhaps you are right. Let's go. Don’t get up abruptly.” He held his wife by the shoulders, after which he got up and walked around the bed. “Smoothly, as we always do.” He helped her sit and then stand up. 

They were already met by Dr. Madisson at the entrance to the clinic.

“Regina.” She smiled at the Queen. “What happened?”

“Catherine, something is wrong with her.” She told her conversationalist her concerns.

“Well, let's take a look.” Catherine nodded without a smile, inviting the patient behind her with a gesture.

In the ultrasound room, she silently studied the picture on the monitor for several minutes.

“How far along are you now exactly?”, she asked Regina without turning around.

“Thirty-four weeks and two days.”, she answered.

“Uh-huh, that’s good.” The doctor nodded, slowly moving the sensor around.

Then, without looking, she groped the telephone receiver on the table next to her.

“Janie, I need an operating room.”, she said, not looking up from the screen. “The third, it seems, was free. What about him? No, Jackson will wait, cancel him. I need it urgently. Regina. We’ll have to get her out right now.” She turned to the Queen.

“What?” She was amazed. “But she's still too small. She is not ready. We still have to get a steroid course next week.” 

“Look.” She turned the monitor towards the patient. “This is your cervix and it has begun to open. This is the placenta, which is located directly above the cervix. This is where the detachment begins. See the dimming here? This is a hematoma that is forming under the detachment. That’s why the girl is so active. She’s lacking oxygen due to the fact that part of the placenta is no longer functioning. If we don’t take her out now, she will suffocate. And you will have a breakthrough bleeding.” 

“But she will suffocate in any case.” Regina muttered confused. “You yourself said a few days ago that her lungs are not ready yet, that we need another course of steroids.” 

“We will do everything to prevent this from happening.”, the doctor assured her. “Regina, now is her only chance.”

“Rumple.” She looked at her husband in dismay.

“Everything will be fine.” He said automatically, clutching her palm. “I'll be near.” 

“No.” She looked at the doctor again. “She's not ready yet. I'm not ready yet. We can’t do it right now.”

“I know.” She nodded. “But there is no other way. I'm in here.” She waved her hand at the nurse with a gurney in the hallway. “We have the best childrens’ intensive care units in the city.” She turned back to the Queen. “And you already have a very good gestational age. We’ve had some children with less gestational age, and in the end, everything is in order with them. Don’t worry; everything will be fine with your girl.” 

“No.” the Queen repeated. “This shouldn’t have happened. We did everything right. I lay there for three months, almost without getting up so that this would not happen.”

“Everything will be fine.” Catherine repeated.

Ten minutes later, the Queen was already lying on the operating room table with a catheter in her back. In front of her, at chest level, a curtain fell. An anesthetist stood above her, next to him - her husband and David Stern.

“Does it hurt?” Catherine’s voice came out.

“No.” She shook her head slightly.

“Like that?”, the doctor asked.

“No, that either.”, Regina answered.

“Fine, then we begin.” Catherine nodded.

“Oh my god.” The Queen breathed out a minute later. “I can feel exactly how you do it.”

“This is normal.” Dr. Madisson answered without being distracted. “The main issue is that there is no pain. Is it?” She glanced quickly at the patient.

“No.” She confirmed.

“So all is well.” She went deep into the process again. “We could have put you to sleep but epidural anesthesia is much safer for a child, especially in your situation, in the presence of hypoxia. The sensations will be a little strange, but there will be no pain.”

“I get it.” The Queen closed her eyes, squeezing Gold's hand.

“Honey, everything is fine, it will all be over soon.” He bended over his wife and rested his forehead on her forehead.

Another ten minutes and the tiny girl was already lying on the table with the neonatologist.

“Why isn't she crying?” Regina squeezed her husband's hand even more, digging her nails in.

“Give her some time.” Catherine answered calmly. “For her, all this is also unexpected. Neonatologists, gentleman, can we hear the child already?” She asked without looking, continuing to attend to the wound.

“Just a couple of minutes.” Someone assured her.

“Very good.” The doctor nodded. “Can you work a little more actively with the suction?”, she asked one of the assistants quietly. “I can’t see where it’s bleeding from.”

“From everywhere.”, he answered even more quietly. “Atonic.”

“You know, in my operating room no one utters such words. Get out of here,” Catherine said calmly. “David, take the suction away from him.” she nodded to Stern.

Stern obediently replaced the assistant.

“Narcotize.” He said only with his lips, looking into the wound and then turning to the anesthetist.

“Regina.” He turned to the patient. “Now I will put another catheter in the clavicle area. After a while, you will fall asleep and when you wake up, we will have everything finished. Take a deep breath now…”

The Queen took a deep breath and at the same moment everything swam before her eyes and began to darken.

She woke up from the persistent nasty squeaking of the alarm clock. Without opening her eyes, she fumbled around in search of her telephone, but still couldn’t find it. The squeaking continued.

“But where is it?” Regina sighed, finally opening her eyes and seeing her husband's pale tense face above her.

It wasn’t the alarm clock that squeaked but the cardio monitor she was connected to. At that moment, all the previous events resurfaced in her mind.

“Regina.” Gold leaned towards her. “Thank God you are back.”

“Well, I didn’t seem to leave,” She looked around perplexed. “Where's the girl?” She realized. “What’s up with her?”

“She's fine.” Her husband smiled. “She's in the children's ward. She is healthy, breathing well by herself but must remain there for several days.”

“Good.” Regina smiled. “Can I see her?”

“Off course.” He hastily removed a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “David? Regina woke up. Yes…”

Soon, Stern entered the room with a pink bundle in his hands.

“Regina.” He smiled at the woman. “How are you?”

“Fine.” The Queen shrugged a little. “Come on, give her to me.” She impatiently held out her hands for the baby.

“Take your time.” Stern helped her up a little, recline on the bed and carefully put the girl on her mother’s chest. Holding her by the elbow, he helped her hug her daughter. “Is it okay? Are you holding her?”, he asked.

“I’m holding her.” Regina said, looking fascinated at the girl. “With your nose, as you wanted.” She smiled, quickly glancing at her husband.

“Yes, all my children are like that.” He nodded, carefully stroking his daughter on the cheek with the back of his fingers.

“Is she healthy?” The woman turned back to Stern.

“Absolutely.”, the doctor assured her. “You will both be home in a week.”

“Good.” She smiled again, looking at her daughter.

“But now both of you need to rest and recover.” He held out his hands for the girl.

“So fast?” Regina asked in frustration.

“You will see each other again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow you will be together already, in the same room.” Stern assured her. “What are you going to call her?”, he asked, picking up the girl.

“Rachel.” Gold answered.

“_Rahel_.” The doctor smiled at the girl and, touching the tips of his fingers to her forehead, said a blessing in a whisper. “Tell mom and dad: "Bye! See you tomorrow!"

“Till tomorrow!” The Queen smiled. “Everything worked out.” she laughed happily after Stern hid behind the door.

“Everything worked out.” the husband confirmed, kissing her hand. “You did everything just fine. You are simply incredible.” 

“Well, don’t praise me too much.” She settled back in bed horizontally. “Now we need another boy, for symmetry, and we can relax.”

“No.” Gold objected.

“No?” The Queen was surprised.

“I won’t survive another pregnancy like this one.” He said seriously.

“You?” Regina asked with a grin.

“I have no doubt about your abilities.” He kissed her hand again. “But I have already completely turned gray.”

“Well, not yet completely.” The Queen looked at her husband. “There is still some not gray hair on you.”

“No, Regina, absolutely not.” Gold said, restraining his emotions. “Neither boys nor girls. Enough. You’ve had a clinical death today during cesarean.”

“Really?” She was surprised. “Strange. I don’t remember either the light at the end of the tunnel, or mom and dad who would come to meet me. How could they ignore my arrival?”

“Stop it.” Her husband grimaced. “It isn’t funny at all. And no symmetries.” 

“Let's talk about this in a year.” The Queen yawned.

“We won’t talk.” Gold assured her. “Neither in a year, nor in ten.”

“Okay, don't get so nervous.” Regina smiled. “Go eat something, drink some cognac, you're kind of pale. And I’ll sleep a little longer.” She wrapped herself in a blanket.

“That's good idea, sleep.” He leaned over to his wife and carefully kissed her on the temple. “You know, I love you very much.”

“Yes, I do too.”, she answered as she was falling asleep.


	39. Chapter 39

“Such a gorgeous dress!” Gold, sitting on the sofa in the living room, looked his daughter up and down. “A better Evil Queen cannot be imagined.”

“For sure?” Charlotte turned in front of him again.

“Absolutely.”, he assured her. “Everyone will just fall on their knees when they see you. When is your school play? Next week?”

“Dad!” The girl looked reproachfully at him. “It is the day after tomorrow!” 

“Really?” Gold said surprised. “I’m sorry, apparently, I have lost a bit the track of time since the week I’d been away. Well, that’s even better. I can’t wait to see you on stage.”

“It would be better if it was next week in general.” the baby-girl sighed. “I'm not ready yet.”

“Come on.” Her father smiled at her. “I'm sure you know everything and will perform very well. If you want, I could rehearse it with you?”

“Let’s do it.” Charlotte agreed. “I'll bring the text now.” She walked quickly up the stairs.

Gold pulled up another sofa cushion and settled down, reclining.

“Don’t you feel any better?” the Queen asked, who at that time was rocking Rachel, walking around the living room.

“Nope.” He laid his head on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes.

“You know, that looks a little suspicious.” She grinned. “My husband spends a week on a business trip in Las Vegas and returns with a sore back. There are many question marks about what you did there”.

“Very funny.” Gold grimaced. “My back did not hurt at all there; it was here, at the airport. I somehow took my suitcase from the belt unsuccessfully. And not even in Las Vegas, but somewhere between Lancaster, Keliko and Kelso.”, he added. “Disgusting place. Forty degrees in the shade and the wind is even hotter. I can’t imagine how people live there and how can anyone work in such weather conditions.” 

“Well, apparently, they have already become accustomed to it for the several generations that they have been living there.” Regina shrugged.

“I'm ready!” Charlotte bounced into the living room.

“Fine.” her father smiled at her. “Who will I be?” 

“Let's start with the mirror.”, the girl said earnestly, handing him the text.

“Not my favorite role.” He pretended to read carefully. “But oh well.”

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Charlotte asked sternly.

“Of course you, my Queen.” Gold answered.

“No, this is a different scene.” She reached for her father and, finding the right line, she poked her finger at a sheet of paper. “See? Here you say that Snow White is prettier.”

“How ridiculous.”, he sighed.

“Well, dad.” The girl frowned. “Will you read or not?”

“I will.” Gold assured her. “Come on, again.”

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”, she repeated.

“My Queen, you are the fairest here, it’s so true.” He read, holding back a laugh. “But Snow White beyond the mountains, at the Seven Dwarfs’ house, is a thousand times more beautiful than you."

“This girl?!” Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly, arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips.

“Don't do that.” Regina interjected. “It's not pretty and not at all like the Evil Queen.”

“I think it’s very similar.” Gold laughed. “Especially now.” he added, turning to his wife. “Come on.” he turned back to his daughter. “Here is the text from the author: The Queen turned green with envy. Oh, look, there’s also a bit about Zelena here.” He once more glanced at Regina.

“Keep in mind that we’ll get to the other fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as well.” the Queen noted.

“Well, don't judge it too harshly.”, he said conciliatorily. “As for me, they retold it much more accurately than most New York newspapers, for example. So these are far from the worst options that we could get.”

“Dad, do not get distracted!” Charlotte interrupted impatiently.

“I'm not distracted.” He continued to read.

“Well, how did you like it?” The girl climbed up on the sofa and sat down next to her dad after they finished.

“It’s great!” He kissed his daughter. “See? You know everything and you are completely ready.”

“You think so?” She asked doubtfully.

“I immediately told you: there cannot be a better Evil Queen.” Gold smiled.

The lock clicked in the hallway and the voices of Mrs. Stern and Gideon were heard.

“Oh, here comes the Puss in Boots.” Regina smiled. “It took you a long time to get back somehow.”, she noted when her sister entered the living room hand in hand with Tali.

“Do you think it's that easy to find a costume of this cat?”, she retorted. “Especially one so chic. We probably went around ten stores, but it was worth it. And for you, my Queen, we bought a no less luxurious crown.” She took out a diadem from her purse, strewn with rhinestones, and showed it to Charlotte.

“Aunt Regina!” The girl jumped to her feet and then up and down on the sofa.

“Charlotte!” The Queen, holding Rachel with one hand, grabbed Charlotte with the other and put her gently on the floor. “Don't do that anymore.”

“But what’s so wrong with that?”, she muttered, straightening her dress.

“Dad's back hurts, I already told you. Don't shake him.” Her mother explained as calmly as possible.

“I'm sorry.” Charlotte said, looking quickly at her father.

“It's all right.” Gold took his daughter by her shoulders and kissed her. “And where is our cat?” He asked his sister-in-law.

“He’s changing into his suit.” she smiled. “Gideon? Are you ready?” She turned towards the hallway.

“Ta-dam!” Gideon bounced into the living room, in an embroidered camisole and a long fluttering cloak, in a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, in high leather boots and with a saber in his hands.

“Well.” he looked around his son. “Cat could have never dreamed of that.”

“You yourself just praised the Grimms for good story retelling.” his wife grinned. “So be quiet.”

“I am.” he shrugged. “Great suit!” He smiled at Gideon. “Where did you lose David?” He turned to Regina again.

“He has some emergency at the clinic.”, she replied with displeasure. “So he will come ... well, when he comes.”

“That's a pity.” Gold sighed.

“Well, see, this is fate.” the Queen smiled. “Let’s go, I'll massage you. And you know it yourself: I will do no worse than David.”

“You will do it three times more painfully than David.” He grimaced, rubbing his back.

“And three times more effectively.” Regina nodded. “Because he, unlike me, is afraid to press you properly.”

“He just does it carefully.” Gold retorted.

“Well, you still have no choice.” His wife shrugged. “In half an hour, Jessica will be here, and in four hours, everyone else. Unless you decide to listen to the voice of reason still and postpone the dinner in honor of the opening of the mine for another day.”

“You know it yourself that this is impossible and you’re the voice of reason.” he grinned. “People made plans for this dinner, so it's too late to change anything.”

“Then you just have to surrender to me.”, the Queen concluded. “Hold her.” She handed Rachel carefully to her sister.

“Don’t you want to try and put her to bed?”, she asked. 

“It's impossible.” Regina waved her off. “Her first tooth is coming out, so as soon as you put her down, the crying immediately turns on. Cradle her for now.” 

“Okay.” Her sister nodded, shaking her niece slightly in her arm.

“Mrs. Savage will come soon, she will take your place.” The Queen comforted her.

“Well, I’m particularly suffering.”, she assured her. “Are you both ready for the school plays?” She glanced over her niece and nephew. “Evil Queen? Puss in Boots? Bring your texts here, we’ll repeat everything a couple of times.”

“Mine is already here.” Charlotte handed the script over to her aunt.

“And I'll bring it now.” Gideon, jumping around, portraying a cat, went up to the nursery.

“Let's go.” The Queen held out her hand to her husband.

“Maybe it will pass by itself?”, he said doubtfully.

“Let's go.”, she repeated with a grin.

“Okay.” He got to his feet, not without difficulty.

***

“Knock knock knock.” Jessica's voice came from behind the bedroom door. “You know, I’m very embarrassed to bother you, but I need one of you.”

“Jessica, come in.”, the Queen answered.

The blonde opened the door and entered the master bedroom. Gold, dressed in a gray home suit, was laying on the bed with his back to Regina, who was sitting at the edge and still stroking his lower back.

“I really don’t want to interrupt you.”, she said with fake embarrassment, “but we need to clarify everything. Today's buffet doesn’t organize itself.”

“Buffet?” Gold rolled over on his back and lifted himself up a little, leaning on the back of the bed.

“Yes.” Jessica nodded.

“Spend the whole evening on my feet and consider myself satisfied with aperitifs and canapes? No, it doesn’t suit me.” He grimaced.

“Oh, well, we're not getting together to eat.” the woman retorted. “This isn’t the main goal.”

“It isn’t.” Gold agreed. “But I still want to be able to sit down and eat normally at dinner. And do not stomp all evening around the living room with a canape in my hand.”

“Come on, stop it.” she smiled. “It's okay if you don't have dinner one day. It’s even good for you. And all of us will benefit from the high level of communication the buffet provides.”

“We can start with it and finish with it.” he agreed. “Snacks and aperitifs, then dinner, then digestives.”

“This will complicate things.” Jessica sighed. “And I already ordered everything for a buffet table. I have to re-order and restructure everything with catering now.”

“It's okay.” Gold shrugged. “There is still time.” 

“Okay. There’s no use in debating with you anyway.”, she surrendered. “Regina, come with me. In this case, we’ll need to do the serving beforehand and see if we need more tables and utensils so we can notify the restaurant on time.”

“Go, I'll be right there soon.” the Queen assured her.

“Don't be sad.” Gold smiled after her. “It’s difficult for you, of course, to deal with us, but in the end everything will be fine”.

“Yes ...” She waved, leaving the bedroom.

“Isn't it time for us to get Jessica a salary?” The Queen smiled at her husband when the door closed.

“Well, I don’t even know.”, he said thoughtfully. “Given how much benefit she and Howard get from these dinners, perhaps we should, on the contrary, start charging them for rent of our dining room and living room.”

“How's your back?”,she asked.

“Fine.” Gold smiled. “You are, as always, magnificent.”

“Good.” Regina leaned over and kissed him. “By the way, you can sleep a couple of hours before dinner. What time did you get up today to catch a plane? About five o'clock?”

“Around that.” He nodded. “But I haven’t seen Puss in Boots in action yet. I'll go see him now. And I will rehearse once more with the Evil Queen.” He smiled.

“Well, as you wish.” She kissed him again and went to the dining room.

***

“You all already know that “Mount Soledad” gold-mine started working in California the day before.” Howard Trenton stood with a glass of wine near a large oval table. “Which is great news, not only for Nevada, but for me as well. Not only because the New York factory will supply mining equipment for the “GoldenQueen mining Co” and not only because we got a lucrative gold supply contract for the General Electric New York affiliate, but because all this became possible thanks to my friend, who was able after five years of hard work, to launch again the largest gold mine in Nevada. And this has become a huge contribution to the economy of my city.”

“Okay, we don’t pour to Howard anymore.” Gold grinned softly.

“I'll pretend I didn't hear that.” Trenton smiled. “For my good friend, Mr. Gold, whose name simply did not leave him any chance not to eventually join our gold mining industry.” He raised his glass.

“Thanks, Howard.” Gold reached for him, and many others glasses closed up around their own and clinked together.

Soon, dinner turned into a buffet with digestives and the guests scattered around the living room, gathering in interesting groups. The Queen, who had been absent looking after the children, found her husband near the fireplace. He was standing next to a man of Asian appearance. Who was obviously tense but Gold calmly and very quietly was saying something to him.

“Rumple, can I have you for a second?” The Queen put her hands on her husband’s shoulders. “Alik, I'm sorry.” She smiled at the Asian. “I must take him for a while.”

“Regina, you can do whatever you want.” He blurted out with a smile in return. “I haven’t had time to thank you for the evening.” He held out his hand and, when she met his gesture, he bent down and kissed her palm. “It's always a pleasure to see you.” He looked up at her, straightened up and then ran his hand up her arm, lingering near her shoulder.

“Do it again and you’ll lose your hand.” Gold remarked calmly nevertheless, not without pleasure as he watched him hastily remove his hand from the Queen's shoulder.

“Come on.” He smiled again. “I didn’t mean anything like that.”

“Tell this to other husbands of other women.” He hugged his wife lightly by the shoulder, taking her aside. “We will continue soon.” He nodded to his conversationalist.

“What was that?” Regina asked in a whisper when they moved away.

“Alik is a Muslim.” Gold explained. “They have a rather complicated relationship with women. In his native country, if he had touched someone else's wife, he would have lost more than his hand. So he likes teasing his acquaintances here, where he feels complete freedom. This is kind of a way to imperceptibly be rude and feel more confident as the dialogue goes further.”

“And what kind of a dialogue are you having that he needs to feel more confident?”, the Queen asked.

“It doesn't matter.” Her husband shook his head. “What did you want?”

“I'm going to lay Rachel down.”, she answered. “Mrs. Savage can’t cope with her because she can’t fall asleep without a breast. So I’ll stay with her. She won’t sleep without me anyway.”

“Go on.” Gold leaned against her and kissed her on the temple. “I hope I’ll come soon too.”

“Well, just in case: good night.” The Queen smiled.

“Good night.” He kissed her again and headed back to his conversationalist. “You know, I think it’s better for us to continue elsewhere.”, he said to the man. “Not here. In my office.”

The man nodded silently and followed the master of the house.

“Well, what will you say to me here that’s new that I haven’t heard in the living room yet?” The Asian man sat down at the desk opposite Gold.

“Alik, let’s not play the fools.” He splashed himself some whiskey. “You know why you won't get the money.”

“Not at all.”, he objected. “I did everything as we agreed. I pushed all your licenses forward through my friends in Nevada. You think you would have gotten them without me?” He looked at Gold warily.

“I think I should have gotten one more mine.” he answered calmly. “The one I had invested in for five years. Invested in all the researches, including the environmental impact assessments. “The GoldBar” in Roberts Mountains, which, quite suddenly, went by auction to McEwin Mining. After everything I have invested into it.”

“And what do I have to do with it?” The Asian was surprised.

“Well, here we go again.” Gold sighed. “Alik, don't try to cheat me. You sold my researches and my license. I don’t know what made you do this. And I don’t even want to find out. We simply no longer have any business relations together”.

“Just like this?” he grinned. “Do you know what I think? I think you sold the mine to McEwin Mining yourself. And now you're trying to fool me. A very good way to drop a partner. But that won’t work with me. You will pay me everything you owe."

“Alik, don’t take me for a fool.” his conversationalist grimaced. “Ninety-seven kilometers of open pit mining, two tons of gold per year for at least eight years. For how much do you think I could sell all this to McEwin so as not to lose money?” 

“Well, I don’t know what you agreed to!” The Asian man was flushed. “Minus the payouts to me. It might not have been so bad.”

“Alik, I'm tired of listening to all this nonsense.” Gold shook his head. “You humiliate yourself by thinking that I will believe in your innocence. I will say this: be content with the fact that you simply won’t receive your money, but won’t be defamed to the whole city. You will be able to continue working here. This is my gift to you for all your favors.” 

“And what will you say to _that_?” The man took a gun from his belt and showed it to the owner of the office.

“I will say that you do not respect me.” Gold sighed. “I would never have let myself come to your house, to your children, with weapons on my belt. Just as I would have never dared to touch your wife. Additional to that,” he continued calmly, looking at the gun, “I will say that this is a rather old-fashioned and rude choice. A large caliber leaves a lot of mess. I would choose something more elegant, with explosive bullets. Much more damage done with much less blood on the floor.” He leaned back in his chair and slowly took a sip of whiskey.

“That's why I like you.” The Asian laughed, removing his gun. “You have self-restraint.” 

“Unlike you.” His interlocutor nodded. “You know that I know, Alik.”

“But that isn’t so!” he objected.

“You know you can't hide it.” Gold continued. “McEwin Mining wouldn’t have outbid my mine without your participation. And now you're trying to bluff. Apparently, this has often worked for you, even from the time when you were an ordinary card cheater. But I can see a bluff a mile away. I grew up amongst people like you, you don't impress me”.

“What could you ever know about people like me?” the man grinned. “You grew up… where? In some horrific Bronx? Or in the provincial New Jersey?”

“I grew up in a place you cannot even imagine.” he answered calmly. “And please spare me another story from your childhood. You had parents, brothers, sisters. And that “provincial mountain village”, he said, mimicking, “in which you grew up, is simply a paradise in comparison to our village. Your father had a job, your mother took care of you, you had breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, even the simplest, a warm bed. You went to school, studied at the university. In the place where I grew up, they had never heard of such a thing. My mother abandoned me, barely having time to give birth. My father was not ready to raise a child alone. Actually, he was not ready to raise a child at all. Additionally, he missed my mother. So he quickly began to drink: the longer time went by, the more he drank. He never had a job. He was a gambler. Although not at all as lucky as you, for example. You profited off gambling in casinos and then owning casinos, moved to America, and you settled well here. Everything was much sadder for us. The village was tiny: no factories, no amusement facilities. In the only tavern where my father tried to get some money every night, everyone already knew him. So most often he was eventually beaten and put out on the street. Sometimes he was lucky: in the tavern there were passing merchants. Then he managed to make some money. However, he left almost all of it there, in the tavern. So we couldn’t afford to eat three times a day. Our grocer felt sorry for him and even more for me, so she usually gave my father a loan of some bread and eggs. In the mornings he was frying to me a piece of this bread with an egg, and this was the best moment of the day. Dad was still sober, cheerful and full of hope for the day, I had hot food, and life was beautiful. You know, I still have breakfast like this. Amazingly, it gives me that childish feeling of joy for a new day. By the middle of the day, my father was already drunk, and we both ended up in a tavern, where he and his friends, the same tricksters as him, made plans and drank again. And I used to sit huddled in a corner, watching my father and his friends and waiting for us to go home. I usually sat there until late at night. Sometimes one of the visitors noticed me and even bought me a bowl of soup. But more often no one did. At night, when we returned home, where it was almost always cold because my father no longer had the strength to melt the stove, I couldn’t sleep for a long time from the cold and the hunger. And the next day everything was repeated. When my father abandoned me as well as mother, frankly speaking, my life improved significantly, despite the fact that the women who raised me were frankly poor and could teach me only one thing: spinning. Now look around and think about how I got here and whether you want to quarrel with me. Don’t be nervous, we’ll come up with a way for you to pay for your mistake and stay my friend. I think I have even come up with it already. Come on, I will introduce you to someone you can provide several favors for me.” He got up from the desk and extended his hand to his conversationalist. “The gun.” He nodded.

He silently handed him over the gun. 

“I will return it to you tomorrow.” Gold specified, putting his weapon in the safe. “When you won’t be here.”

“Rumple, I swear to you, it's not me!” The Asian repeated eagerly.

“Well, we'll see.” the master of the house nodded. “Time puts everything in its place. If it really isn’t you, which I personally don’t believe, it will gradually become clear.”

***

The curtains were not drawn and a little light penetrated the bedroom from the streetlights. In this dim light however, one could easily see Regina with Rachel sleeping next to her. From a slightly ajar window the smell of the rain came in, which drummed softly on the plat band. Entering the bedroom, Gold looked at his wife and daughter for quite some time. After standing up for a while, he slowly undressed and lay down next to the Queen, carefully hugging her, trying not to wake her.

“Well, finally.” Regina settled in his arms.

“I thought you were sleeping.” Gold smiled, holding her tightly close to him.

“I am sleeping.” the Queen nodded. “And I’ve been waiting for you.” She rubbed her hips against him.

“Not now.” He held her thigh, pressing it to the mattress.

“I’ve missed you.” She turned to her husband and put an arm around his neck. “I haven’t seen you for almost a week. And I’ve waited all day today. And during this whole endless dinner. I can't wait any longer.”

“Regina, I'm really tired.” He stroked her back lovingly. “And by the way, speaking about dinner, after everything I’ve eaten and drunk, I don’t feel like moving at all, honestly.”

“Then don't move.” The Queen agreed, gently turning him on his back and sitting down on top of him.

“Seriously.” Her husband sighed. “I'm already falling asleep.”

“Then sleep.” Regina joked and grinned. “I'll tell you how it went later.”

After kissing him, she ducked under the covers and after a couple of seconds he felt at first the tip of her tongue and her warm breath, and then her lips closing around him.

“Stop…” Gold smiled happily, closing his eyes. “Nothing will come of it.”

Ignoring this statement, the Queen rhythmically slid her lips up and down his cock, lingering a bit at the very top, teasing him with the light touches of her tongue. She increased the pace only to suddenly slow down, then increased the pressure and then warmed it only with her breath, almost not touching it at all with her lips. Simultaneously, she was massaging his hips and then slid her fingers over at his perineum.

“Sweetheart…” he muttered absently, letting his fingers into her hair, feeling the growing excitement breaking through his existing drowsiness.

A few minutes later, he put his hand on her shoulder and pulled his wife up towards him. Regina readily sat astride him again, and with a groan he squeezed her hips, feeling her warmth and moisture. The Queen pressed into him and froze for a couple of seconds. Then, still pressing him down to the mattress, she began slowly drawing an eight with her hips, without rising even a millimeter.

“Regina.” Gold breathed out with a muffled groan, lifting her up a little. “Come on ... What are you doing?”

“Taking my time.” The Queen leaned over her husband and slowly kissed him, continuing to draw eights, making him fidget with impatience beneath her.

After spending a couple more endless minutes like that, she finally swung her hips up a little and then dropped sharply. She hesitated just a little but then began moving again very slowly, rising up and falling again, while massaging his nipples a bit. She was watching her husband’s face and only when he began to lick his drying lips she accelerated the pace, closing her eyes and surrendering to the power of rhythm. Feeling that both of them were already close to the finale, she got up again, this time at the top of his dick and rhythmically squeezed the head. 

“God, Regina.” Gold said, having difficulty keeping quiet, clutching her hips again almost painfully.

He was pulled out from an almost already advancing nirvana he was by a, perplexing at first, movement nearby. The sleeping baby began to toss and turn and whimpered. At that very moment the Queen slipped off her husband and lay on her side, facing the girl.

“Shshsh, all is well my love.” She pulled her daughter to her and put her on her breast.

Gold turned with a sigh to his wife, hugging her waist.

After making sure that the girl had grasped the nipple well, the Queen swung her hips towards her husband. After hesitating for a few seconds, he entered her again, holding her by the hips. At first, very smoothly and carefully, but quickly lost control and broke down at that same pace, snubbing his nose in Regina's neck, which he bit after pouring into his wife and trying to restrain a moan.

“How much I’ve missed you.” He breathed into the back of her head, burying his nose in her thick brown hair.

“Good night.” Regina smiled without looking back.


	40. Chapter 40

“Regina, go for a swim too.” After having swum to the yacht that was standing far from the beach near a tiny islet surrounded by a reef, Gold hung on the ladder leading to the deck. “The water is just great.”

“No.” responded the nude Queen lying on the sundeck. “There are jellyfishes. And sea urchins.” 

“Come on, there are no jellyfishes here.” Her husband sighed. “And the sea urchins all sit on the corals. Don’t swim near them and that’s all.”

“There it is, right next to you.” Regina rose herself up on her elbow, staring at the water.

“Where?” Gold looked around.

“There, under your arm.” She pointed with her finger. 

“This?” He caught a tiny transparent clot from the water. “Is that that terrible jellyfish?” He grinned.

“Throw it away.” The Queen grimaced. “It can be poisonous.”

“Regina, it’s not poisonous.” He rolled the jellyfish around in his palm. “It doesn't even burn. The poisonous ones are much deeper.” He threw the jellyfish away from the yacht. “Get down here already. I will catch all the jellyfishes around you. Why did we even buy a house on St. Barth if you’re neglecting the ocean?” 

“And why did we buy a house on the lake if the water there is always too cold for you?” Regina retorted.

“I like the view.” Gold shrugged.

“So do I.” the Queen smiled. “And not just the view. Do you hear?” She pretended to be listening.

“No, I don’t hear anything.” Her husband shook his head.

“Exactly! It’s even quieter here than on the lake.”, she concluded. “There aren’t even any birds heard here.”

“Well, this won’t be for long.” Gold grinned. “Tomorrow is our turn to walk with the children.”

“Tomorrow is ours.” the Queen agreed. “But today, while Regina and David are with them, I can fully enjoy the silence, the sun and the smell of the sea. As for swimming I prefer smaller, less densely populated pools. Here you’re swimming as if you’re in a fish soup. And by the way, about that, you promised me mussel soup. It's time to start implementing this plan. Also I need to be smeared with sunscreen. So get out of there, stop splashing around already.”

“You can’t smear yourself with sunscreen?” He nevertheless went up to the deck and sat next to his wife.

“No, I can’t myself, I’m already too relaxed and I can’t do anything.” She reached for the sunscreen bottle next to her and handed it to her husband.

He slowly walked his palms over her shoulders and collarbones, gently rubbing sunscreen over her silky skin, barely touched by a tan. Carefully, with light movements, touching only with his fingertips, across her breasts. When he reached the hips, he laid her foot on his shoulder and, kissing her ankle, began to rub the sunscreen, slowly massaging her leg from the ankle to the very top of the thigh. Having done the same with the second leg, he leaned over to his wife and slowly kissed her.

“Turn your back.” He whispered in her ear, burying his nose in her thick brown hair.

The Queen reluctantly rolled over.

“The back is a little higher.” She noted with a slight grin a moment later.

“Really?” He slid his hands up from her… lower back to her shoulders, rubbing them. “Gather your strength and come inside.” He finished, kissing her between the shoulder blades. “Mussels cook very quickly”.

“You won't bring it to me?” The Queen was surprised.

“It’s harmful laying in the sun for so long.” He got up and headed for the cabin, “And with your sunscreen on it’s also kind of pointless. Moreover, I would like to have lunch with you and preferably at the table and under air conditioning, not on a red-hot deck on a mattress.

“How picky you are.” Regina sighed.

Soon the Queen, dressed in a short golden colored robe of the finest silk, was already clinging to Gold who was standing in a long white shirt by the stove.

“Not too much pepper?” She looked into the cooking pot, hugging her husband from the back, clasping her fingers together under his belly. 

“Did you come here to teach me?” Gold squinted at her. “Go sit in the corner, drink some wine.”

“I don't want to sit in the corner.” She laid her chin on his shoulder. “I want to stay here with you.”

“Then be quiet.” Gold summed up kindly, kissing her nose.

“But I wouldn’t refuse some wine.” Quickly kissing her husband on the shoulder, Regina walked around him and sat on the countertop near the stove.

“Hold it.” He took a glass from a shelf above the stove and, handing it to his wife, reached for the refrigerator.

Pulling out an open bottle of Chianti, he poured Regina a little more than half of a glass.

“It seems with mussels everyone drinks white.” The Queen turned the glass in her hand, looking at the wine in the light. “Or champagne.”

“Well, fools.” He poured himself, and, clinking glasses with his wife, took a few sips. “Red suits it much better, believe me.”

He poured some of the same wine into a pot of mussels and quickly stirred it. Catching one of the already opened shells, he broke it in half and,after scooping up a little broth with the part the clam remained on, handed it over to Regina.

“Try it.” Gold nodded.

“Definitely much better.” the Queen concluded.

“Not too much pepper?” He asked.

“Just enough.” Regina smiled.

“Will you debate with me ever again?” Gold smiled back, pulling her hips closer to him.

“But I didn’t debate with you.” She wrapped her legs around him.

“That's it.” He hugged her waist and trailed kisses all over her neck. “Get down.” He looked up his wife and offered her a hand. “And sit at the table. If they get cold, they will no longer be so tasty”.

Pouring Regina some more wine, he also poured the steaming soup on the plates and, throwing the triangle cut pieces of garlic bread into the toaster, looked again into the refrigerator.

“We'll have to drop by the store in the evening.” He concluded, taking out a container of crab butter. “The fridge is almost empty. It is unlikely that David and Regina will be happy about this tomorrow.”

“They won’t take the yacht.” The Queen drank some wine. “They’ll go either diving or surfing- I don’t remember.”

“Good for them!” Gold admired, buttering the toasts. “We shall do the same.”

“Yes, sure.” The Queen nodded. “Let's start on Monday”.

“Monday of what year?” He specified, sitting down at the table next to her.

“I don't know.” Regina shrugged. “We’ll see.” She broke another shell and chew out a clam out of it.

“Give me a piece.” Gold reached for her mouth.

“You seem to have your own plate.” The Queen grinned, kissing him.

“Yes.” he agreed. “But it tastes better like that.”

“Do we have ice?” Regina asked, taking another sip of wine.

“Why, is it already needed?” Gold grinned, running a hand over her thigh.

“Yes.” The Queen smiled. “To put an ice cube in my glass.”

“What a wacky habit.” He grimaced. “Spoiling good wine with ice.”

Nevertheless, he took out the ice box from the freezer and, taking out an ice cube from it, put it into his wife’s glass.

“Try it yourself.” She ran her tongue along the edge of the ice cube, licking the wine from it. “It turns out quite well”.

“When you do that,” Gold smiled, looking at his wife, “it's hard to debate with you.”

“So, shall I put you one?” Regina asked, picking up another cube from the box.

“No.” He pushed back his glass. “I'm not ready for that. But drink it however you want. I won’t say anything.”

“Well, your loss.” She shook the glass slightly, dissolving the ice in it.

***

It was already dark outside, and the bright large stars that generously scattered across the dark sky, were clearly reflected in the water, interspersed with the fluorescent light of jellyfish.

“So, you’re saying they are all in the deep.” Standing on the deck, Regina leaned on the railing, looking down at the luminous purple stripes creeping around the yacht.

“The poisonous ones are in the deep.” Gold put his arm around her waist, leaning her against him. “These are small and harmless. So you still have a chance to plunge into the ocean. Do you know how great it is to swim in the luminous water under the stars?”

“No.” The Queen shook her head. “I like them better from here.”

“Don’t force me to throw you into the water from the deck.” He grinned ironically, glancing at his wife.

“You won’t do it.” Regina recoiled from her husband.

“Not yet.” Gold said conciliatorily. “But, you know, this desire gets stronger every day. Okay, as you want.” He kissed her shoulder. “But I’ll probably swim around the reef again.”

“Say hello to the sea urchins.” The Queen wrapped herself tightly in a bathrobe.

***

Their possessions on the island were a small piece of land with overgrown mangroves, a couple of small bungalows and a narrow strip of their own beach, with their yacht moored at the pier of the coast.

Ending up on the shore, they found Regina and David on the beach. David just kindled a fire in the grill, standing on the sand at the very edge of the water, while Regina rubbed several large fishes with spices.

“And here are the hosts, pulling themselves back on the smell of food.” Regina grinned, turning to her husband. “I told you, you should have started kindling earlier”.

“Did you miss us?” The Queen smiled. “And where are our many children?”

“They're building a tree house.” Regina nodded toward the mangroves.

“Seriously?” The Queen was surprised. “By themselves?”

“Well, it's more like a house under a tree.” Regina reassured her. “See how a blanket is stretched between the trunks over there? This is their tree house”.

“I'll go take a closer look.” The Queen smiled, heading for the trees. “Are you coming with me?” She turned to Gold.

“Of course.” He nodded.

Soon they returned to the beach along with the children.

“Just in time.” David smiled, turning the fish once again on the grill.

“What is this?” Gideon, going to the grill, examined the fish faces.

“A sea devil.” (aka: a monkfish) Stern told him conspiratorially. “Of course, it doesn’t look very good, but it tastes very good.”

“Aunt Regina promised us marshmallows.” Charlotte looked at the fish, too. “Can we have marshmallows right away?”

“That’s a question for your parents.” David shrugged, laying out sliced vegetables on a wire rack around the fish and sprinkling them with herbs and coarse sea salt.

“Can we? Can we?!” All three, Gideon, Charlotte and Rachel, surrounded the Golds.

“You can.” The Queen smiled. “It's a vacation.”

“Can I?” Tali looked at her father.

“No.” David shook his head. “You will eat some fish first.”

“Come on, paaap,”, the girl said.

“You know…” The Queen squatted next to her. “Perhaps your dad is right. First we’ll all eat fish and then marshmallows.”

“Come on, mom!” Her children began to get indignant.

“Just a few pieces.” she consoled them. “Then we will fry the marshmallows. Where are your older children?” She turned to David.

“They will come soon.” Stern assured her. “They went to some kind of fire show on a nearby beach. It should have already ended by now.”

In about ten minutes, Henry and Esther actually joined them. After cutting the fish and putting it on the plates with some vegetables, Stern poured sherry into glasses: for himself, Gold and both Reginas.

“And for us?” Esther smiled at him.

“Are you allowed already?” David asked ironically.

“Well, actually I'm already over twenty-one.” Esther put a hand on his shoulder. “I think just like Henry is.”

“This is terrible.” Stern sighed. “How quickly time flies.” He poured a glass for both of them. “But only one. You still have to lay your younger sisters and brother down, you promised me.”

“I remember.” His daughter assured him, taking her glass back.

*** 

They sat a little longer by the water after the children went to bed.

“What incredible stars there are here…” Senator Stern, sitting on the sand, gazed up at the sky.

“Even better than the ones in the Enchanted Forest you’re telling tell me?” the Queen sitting next to Regina whispered to her.

“Perhaps.” Regina agreed.

Stern standing a bit away from them stirred the coals in grill with a poker, pouring some water on them.

“You know, it’s not necessary at all to do this.”, the Queen addressed him. “There is still nothing to be burned here, there’s only sand around.”

“I know.” David nodded. “But I can't help it, it’s a habit. Nonetheless, it seems they have already gone out.” He shook the coals with a poker once again.

“Pour us another sherry and let’s go to sleep.” The Senator yawned.

“I'll go swimming.” He poured the rest of the wine to both sisters and handed them their glasses.

“Are you crazy?” Regina raised her eyebrows. “Look at the water. It is all glowing! Our night jellyfish company has already sailed”.

“Yeah.” The Queen cringed. “It’s better not to get into this mess.”

“Both of you are boring.” Stern sighed, taking off his shorts. “Next time we won’t take you with us.”

“Do whatever you want.” The Senator waved her hand.

He went into the water on chest level and then diving, he swam along the shore.

For a while, the sisters silently, slowly, sipped their wine, admiring the stars.

“Listen, how do you sleep at night?” Regina finally asked.

“What do you mean?” the Queen asked.

“I mean, does he always snore like that?” She nodded at Gold who was dozing off in a deck chair, not far from them.

“I'm used to it.” the Queen shrugged. “Now, on the contrary, I can’t sleep in silence. He recently left for a couple of days in Washington and I couldn’t sleep at all, listening to every rustle. But when he snores nearby, I feel comfortable and calm, I immediately fall asleep. So generally I sleep perfectly.” She smiled at her sister.

“Lucky you.” Regina nodded.

“Don’t be upset, I’ll get him inside now.” She patted her sister on the shoulder.

“Oh, no, I'm not that ...” Regina was embarrassed.

“It's not because of you.” The Queen reassured her.

She went to her husband and, leaning down, carefully kissed his shoulder.

“Rumple.” She called softly, kissing him now behind his ear.

“What is it, baby?” Gold answered sleepily.

“Come on, let’s put you to bed.” She ran a hand through his hair, tucking a strand behind his ear.

“Yeah.” He yawned. “In five minutes.”

“Let's go.” She kissed him on the shoulder again. “It will be impossible to wake you up later.”

“Well, okay, I’m fine here too.” He wrapped himself in a light blanket, which he had been covered with.

“So far, yes.” The Queen pulled off his blanket. “But then, in the morning, your back will hurt. Get up.” She lightly pulled his hand.

“Right now?” Gold asked tiredly.

“Let's go.” She pulled a little harder. “Tomorrow you’ll be grateful to me for this.”

“I have no doubt.” he sighed, getting up from the deck chair.

In an embrace, they slowly reached their bungalow.

“Isn’t it much better?” The Queen leaned toward her husband when he lay down on the bed and kissed his nose.

“Incomparably.” He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “It’s just not clear why you are still dressed and not in bed.”

“That's easy to fix.” She smiled, taking off her light tunic.

***

“Dad!” Rachel climbed into her parents’ bed and shook Gold’s shoulder. “Come on, dad!” 

“What happened?” He hugged his daughter, laying her down next to him.

“Wake up, it's morning.” She sat back on the bed, freeing herself from his embrace.

“Sweetheart, it’s still very early.” Gold reached for his phone on the bedside table and looked at the time. “It’s not even five a.m. yet.”

“But it's already light out. Mom!” She switched to the Queen.

“We all need to sleep a couple more hours.” she answered sleepily. “Lie down with us.”

Instead, the girl jumped to the floor and, going to the window, pushed one of the thick curtains open.

Bright light gushed into the room.

“Rachel.” The Queen ducked under the covers. “Don't do this, baby.”

“Wake up.” The baby-girl frowned. “The sun has already risen.”

“The sun rises here at four in the morning.” Gold got up, drew the curtain shut and took Rachel in his arms. “Where are Gideon and Charlotte?”

“They're sleeping.” Rachel sighed. “And I'm bored.”

“Come on, we'll sleep a little longer too.” He went to bed again, holding his daughter in his arms.

“I do not want to sleep!” the girl protested.

“Well then, just close your eyes and lie down for a while.” He kissed Rachel on the top of her head, rocking her slightly. “Just one minute.”

“One minute?” She specified.

“One.” Gold nodded, continuing to rock slightly his daughter.

“Has the minute passed already?” She turned to her already dozing father a couple of minutes later.

“Not yet.” he answered sleepily.

“I'm tired of lying down already.” She twisted out of his arms. “And anyway, I want to eat.”

“Okay.” Gold sighed, sitting up in bed. “Let's go have breakfast.”

“Is that it? Are we getting up already?” The Queen stretched.

“Sleep.” He kissed her nose quickly. “We will find something to do without you for now.”

***

Waking up again, the Queen found out that it was almost half-past nine. Having taken a shower and thrown on a light white tunic, she went to the beach, where, as she expected, she found her husband and children. The kids wandered with the fishing nets at hand along the stone pier.

“Look, over there!” Charlotte pointed a finger somewhere between the stones protruding from the water under their feet.

“No, it's not a crab.” Gideon looked closely. “This is another stone, just overgrown with algae.”

He caught it with the net just in case.

“See?” He showed his sister the catch.

Tali looked at the shrimps caught by the older children, floating in a bucket, small and almost transparent.

“Are they really shrimps, for sure?” She asked doubtfully.

“For sure.” Gideon dismissed her without looking back. “Don’t touch them, okay?”

“I won’t touch them.” the girl assured him.

Gold, in shorts and a thin linen shirt, was sitting on the sand at the very edge of the sea, his legs down in the water. Beside him on a beach mat laid Esther in a colorful swimsuit.

“Okay, come on.” He thought for a second. “The investor is considering buying a property worth two million seven hundred thousands, while he expects to take two and a half million on credit for 10 years, at fifteen percent per annum.” He wrote the numbers with his finger on the sand. “Net operating income from this facility will be five hundred thousand…”

“I see you are having fun here.” The Queen grinned, coming up to them.

“You bet.” Esther sighed.

“Oh, and here is Aunt Regina.” Gold turned to his wife. “Have you slept enough?”

“Yes.” She smiled with pleasure. “Unlike the main instigator of the early wake-ups.” She glanced at Rachel who was sleeping in a deck chair not far from them.

“It's not so easy getting up at dawn.” He also looked at his daughter with a smile. “But I hope she adapts to the local daylight in a couple of days.”

“That would be nice.” Regina nodded, sitting down on the sand next to her husband and hugging him from the back.

Gold added a few more numbers at the sand.

“Calculate for me the leverage: at the current percentage and at twelve percent per annum, and that's enough for now.” He nodded to Esther and then leaned back slightly, leaning against his wife.

“You can sleep a couple more hours as well.” The Queen kissed his temple.

“Well, I won’t fall asleep anymore.” He turned his head slightly, presenting his neck for a kiss. “I’m not two and a half years old, so I won’t succeed.” 

All the same, he closed his eyes, resting his head on Regina's shoulder.

“Where is Henry?” She looked around.

“Apparently, somewhere in San Francisco.” Esther looked up from her calculations and, looking around as well, pointed toward the trees at the edge of the beach.

Henry was sitting under one of them, buried in his phone.

“In San Francisco?” Regina asked.

“Yes. Where Nancy spends her vacation.” Her niece grinned. “His new girlfriend.” she specified under the Queen's questioning look. “They correspond almost round the clock.”

“Have you calculated it?” Gold asked without opening his eyes.

“Yes.” Esther nodded. “This way and that way. Equity capitalization ratio is twenty eight and thirty one. Respectively, without leverage, nineteen.”

“Yeah.” He yawned. “That's right.”

“Since we’ve finished, I’ll go to the neighboring beach.” The girl got up from the mat. “They serve mojitos at the bar.”

“Take a glass for us both too.” Gold asked. “Money is on the table, in the hallway.” 

“Okay.” Esther nodded and headed toward the house.

“Look!” Gideon’s voice came through.

Charlotte screamed, and Gold straightened up immediately, turning to face them.

“Honey, is everything all right?” he called out to his daughter.

“We found a huge crab! Come here, look!” She waved to her parents. “You will miss him like that.” She turned to her brother. “Look, now it will crawl under the stone again.” The girl bent over the water.

“Do not touch it with your hands!” The Queen got up and went to them.

“We are careful.” Gideon dismissed her, raising the stone.

“I'm serious.” Regina quickened her pace. “He may break one of your fingers.”

“Regina, there are no such crabs here.” Gold sighed, following his wife.

“That's it, I got it!” Gideon threw the net on the crab and pressed it to the bottom.

“And how do we catch him now?” Charlotte examined the prey. “If you start flipping the net over, it will run away again.”

“Come on.” Going up to the children, Gold squatted down next to his son. “Lift a little”.

The boy slightly raised the net and he quickly grabbed the crab with two fingers on the shell.

“You see, everything is not so scary.” He smiled at the Queen, lowering the crab inside the bucket with the shrimps. “But your mother is right.” He turned to the children. “It’s better not to touch it.”

“But won’t it eat the shrimps?” Charlotte asked doubtfully, looking at the large claws.

“Maybe.” Gold shrugged.

“Let's transfer it to another bucket.” The Queen picked up the crab by the shell and pulled it out of the water.

“And who told us so stubbornly that crabs should not be touched?” Her husband was indignant.

“Well, I can do it.” She smiled.

“Dad, you promised me that when mom comes, I will learn how to moor the yacht.” Gideon realized. “And mom is already here”.

“If I promised, let's go.” Gold nodded.

“I want that too.” Charlotte said. “Take me with you!”

“Do you think you can reach the levers?” Her brother asked skeptically.

“Well, we’ll try.” Gold hugged his daughter by her shoulders. “We won't be long.” He smiled at the Queen.

“Have fun.” Regina nodded and squatted down next to Tali. “What shall we do?” She smiled at the girl.

“We have to make it like the sea there.” She pointed at the buckets with the catch. “Otherwise they are sad there.”

“You're right.” The Queen agreed.

Having poured some sand and stones into the buckets and dropping over them a pair of algae, they looked at their work with satisfaction.

“They are just like at home now.” Tali concluded. “But in the evening, we still let them go back in the sea, right?”

“Of course.” Regina confirmed. “Let's go look for fingerling.” she suggested.

“Let's better build a castle.” the girl answered after thinking.

“Great idea.” the Queen said.

“Mooom!” Charlotte’s voice came through. “Mom, we’re floating to the island, over there, okay?” Standing on the deck, she waved to the Queen and pointed to a small island off the coast.

“Good.” Regina waved to her. “Well, shall we? We can wake Rachel up and together we’ll build a huge castle, okay?” She turned back to her niece.

“All right!” Tali nodded.

By the time they set about building, Esther had returned to the beach with the three cocktail glasses.

“Here you go.” She sat on the sand next to Regina and handed one to her. “I think uncle won’t be offended if we drink his cocktail too.” She smiled, looking at the yacht moving away from the shore.

“We’ll sacrifice it for Henry.” The Queen suggested, quickly glancing at the young man still sitting under the shade of the trees. “And in return we’ll have him build a castle for the girls.”

“Good plan.” Esther agreed. “Henry!” She called out to the young man. “Come to us! How long are you gonna sit in the corner?” 

“Yeah, now.” He answered, not looking up from the phone.

“Seriously, Henry.” The Queen turned to the young man. “Your girlfriend also needs to be with her parents. Take a break from each other. Come here, take a dip, drink a mojito, build us a sand castle. You can sit in the messenger at home”.

“Yes, I'm coming.” Henry grumbled, rising to his feet. “That’s it, see? I'm already here.” He went to the Queen and his sisters.

“Sit down.” Regina patted on the ground next to her. “Here you go.” She handed him a glass. “Well what kind of girl is she?”

“Esther!” Henry cast an indignant look at his sister. “We studied together.” He sipped a little from his cocktail. “Well, we still do but now she has transferred to a different course. Here, look.” He showed the Queen his phone, on the screen of which he stood next to a dark-haired girl at the college courtyard.

“Pretty.” The Queen peered at the screen. “How long have you been dating?”

“I don’t know. Maybe six months or so.” He put the phone in his pocket.

“And why is it a secret?” His aunt inquired.

“Well, this is not a secret.” The young man dismissed her. “It’s just… why should everyone know everything about my personal life?” He squinted at Esther again.

“Okay, no more questions.” Regina smiled. “How about the sand castle? Will you build the best for us?”

“The biggest one, for all the princesses living there.” Rachel said approaching them.

“Of course.” Henry smiled at her. “I am the most famous master at the construction of huge castles!” He added proudly. “We need to collect a lot of wet sand. Tali, I see, has already begun. Let’s go help her.” 

“Let’s go buy more cocktails?” Esther leaned towards Queen. “Or shall we swim first? Can you swim on the beach, by the shore? It's not so deep here and there’s nothing at all: no fishes and jellyfishes. Only crabs, on the rocks.” she said with irony.

“I can by the shore.” the Queen assured her. “Let's go.” 

After swimming for about an hour, they bought themselves another cocktail and returned to the beach, where the fortress’ walls and towers were already growing.

“Look what a moat we dug!” Tali waved to them. “Rachel and I dag this!”

“Awesome!” The Queen admired. “Not a single dragon will fly over it or swim past it.”

“You could help us as well.” Henry paused briefly from constructing the wall.

“We cannot take work away from the most famous master.” Esther grinned.

“I can take you to be my apprentice.” The young man winked at her. “You will learn from the best. Say yes!” 

“Okay, I’m persuaded.” The Queen finished her mojito and headed towards the castle. “What do we need to do, master?”

After some time, a large-scale complex grew on the sand: with towers, fortress walls, a courtyard and a deep moat around filled with water.

“We have to put our crab in the moat.” Regina suggested. “He will guard the castle from all sorts of floating threats.”

“He can’t handle it alone.” Tali said thoughtfully. “The moat is too big.”

“Now Gideon will catch a couple more for you.” The Queen, covering her eyes from the sun with her palm, looked closely at the yacht, which was gradually approaching the shore. “They are already sailing back.”

The yacht stopped a short distance from the coast, near the buoys.

“Mama!” Gideon waved to the Queen while standing on the diving deck. “Look!”

He jumped into the water and swam to the shore. Regina watched him intensely all the time as he was swimming.

“Don't do this anymore.” She gasped as the boy emerged from the water. “It’s too far from the buoys to the shore. Did dad let you do this?”

“Of course he did.” Gideon sighed. “Do you really think that I jumped into the water when he wasn’t watching?” He smiled conciliatorily.

“Okay, I'll talk to him about this.” The Queen took her son by the shoulders, stroking him a little. “Where's Charlotte? I hope she won't jump like you?” 

“No.” The boy reassured her. “She will moor the yacht to the pier. I trained around the island and now it's her turn”.

“Well, I hope everyone and everything will be safe.” His mother sighed, watching the boat backing up to the stone pier.

Soon, Gold and Charlotte were on the shore and headed to the others. Charlotte was skipping and joyfully twirling around her father.

“Mama! Mom, did you see?” She shouted to the Queen from afar.

“I saw it.” Regina nodded.

Gideon, standing behind his Mom’s back and looking at his Dad, pointed at her, then with his hands he depicted an explosion and ran a finger across his neck.

“What are you doing?” The Queen turned to him, feeling the movements made behind her.

“I didn't do anything at all.” The boy calmly shrugged.

Gold had already approached his wife.

“Don't be angry.” He put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

“Don’t be angry?” Regina asked, pulling away. “But these were about thirty meters and you didn’t even watch him swim!”

“Well, you’ve watched him like ten people.” he pressed her again to him. “And these were not thirty meters. Also somewhere in the middle of the way, he could already get on his feet. Although, as you saw, it wasn’t needed because Gideon swam perfectly.”

“And I ran the yacht very well.” Charlotte interjected.

“You've done everything very well.” Gold leaned over and kissed his daughter. “You both. Right mom?” He slyly looked at his wife.

“Yes.” The Queen smiled, hugging the girl by the shoulders. “Everything was great!”

“Wow, what a castle!” Charlotte slipped out of Regina’s arms and headed for the sand tower. “Did you build it?” She turned to Henry.

“Well, I helped your mom and sisters a bit.” The young man smiled.

Gideon went after her.

“Seriously, Regina, don’t be so anxious.” Gold gently ran the back of his hand across his wife’s cheek, with his other hand still holding her by the waist. “Relax, the children need vivid experiences and nothing will happen to any of them. I’ve got this.”

“Okay.” The Queen surrendered. “Only, another time, make sure I don’t see these vivid experiences.”

“That won’t be interesting.” he objected. “We need to brag to mom. Maybe just a little sedative? We have a cold Brut. Very good in this weather. And calms the nerves. Do you want any?” 

“Really?” Regina was surprised. “And where did we get it from?”

“In the morning we went to the city while some were asleep.” Gold smiled. “So we have everything.”

“Okay, let's try it.” The Queen smiled back. “And, by the way, we can already think about having some food, it’s almost 2 pm” 

“Let's go combine business with pleasure.”

Standing near the open refrigerator and slowly sipping Brut from a tall glass, the Queen examined the contents of the shelves.

“So why do we need so many different fish?” She finally asked.

“We’re gonna cook bouillabaisse.” Gold added a little more champagne to both of their glasses.

“Well, we are not poor fishermen who have to put mishmash in the soup.” Regina grimaced. “I still remember this smell in the fishing villages of our kingdom.”

“We'll put some good fish in.” Gold grinned. “And the smell will be completely different, you will like it.”

After about an hour, everyone was already seated at the table set on the terrace of their house.

“Can I not eat the soup?” Charlotte examined the lobster claw, visible in the pot.

“You can.” Gold nodded. “But you won’t have any ice cream either.”

“Okay, I'll eat the soup.” the girl surrendered.

“Put me some more scallops.” Esther handed the plate to Henry. “They're just delicious.” She turned to Gold.

“Well, at least someone here likes how I cook.” He smiled. “How do you like the soup?” He leaned toward his wife. “Is the smell normal?”

“Be quiet and add me another ladle.” Regina grinned softly, moving her plate to him.

“Do you want me to poor you some more Brut?” Gold asked.

“Pour.” The Queen nodded.

After the dessert, she took the children to the living room and handed Gideon a book, after scrolling through it and making a bookmark.

“As usual.” Regina smiled. “You read two pages and then Charlotte two more.”

“Come on, mom, these are a lot!” Gideon protested.

“What to do?” The Queen shrugged. “If you want to read faster than anyone in the class this year, then you need to train. And Rachel and Tali will thank you.”

“Well, read at least one fairy tale yourself.” Charlotte said.

“Fine.” The Queen agreed, taking another book from the shelf. “I’ll read one.”

Returning to the terrace, she found it empty and the dishes were already removed from the table. Looking closer, she saw Henry and Esther on the beach. The girl was sunbathing, and the guy had again buried himself on the phone under the shadow of the mangrove. Looking around the terrace, she swiped the crumbs off the floor and went to the kitchen, where Gold was washing the dishes.

“I see the negotiations on the benefits of reading were long.” He quickly glanced over his shoulder.

“The main thing is that we have achieved the wanted result.” The Queen hugged him by waistline and buried her nose in his neck.

Her husband had just washed the last plate and closed the water.

“You know, perhaps I’ll sleep a little after all.” He squared his shoulders, flexing them and reached for his wife for a kiss.

“Take me to bed with you.” Regina smiled, snuggling closer to her husband and unbuttoned his shirt.

“No, someone should remain awake.” Gold grinned, turning to his wife. “Since the children are not sleeping.”

“But I didn’t say I was going to sleep.” the Queen retorted.

“Is that so?” He pulled her to his hips and kissed her again. “But you will be on top and this is not a discussion.”

“We’ll decide on the spot.” She put her arms around his neck.

“Everything has already been decided.” He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.


	41. Chapter 41

“What have they been finding out from him for so long?” Henry nervously walked along the corridor in the courthouse and stopped near one of the doors, listening. “He’s been there for about forty minutes. They listened to you only for ten minutes.” He turned to his mother.

“It's good that they agreed to listen to me in general.” Regina said, sitting on a sofa, not far from the door of the courtroom. “I have nothing to do with this matter and they could have not considered my request as a Senator at all”.

“And why can’t they make the process open?” He walked along the door again. “What is such a great secret being examined there?” 

“Well, you know!” The Senator raised her eyebrows. “This is a unique case in general: that the case of premature release is being considered in the courtroom with the participation of the concerned parties and not in the judge’s chambers personally by him. It's a mystery to me how Gold got it. Maybe you should try to peep through the keyhole?” She grinned, as she was watching her son movements.

“Actually, this is an idea,” Henry stopped and very quietly and carefully opened the door slightly, so that a little crack appeared.

“Henry, I was joking.” Regina clarified. 

“Sshshh” He put a finger to his lips and pressed his ear to the door.

“... from the start was inadequate to the crime committed by Miss Swan.” Gold's voice came through to him. “She was only an accomplice, the organizer was Killian Jones and he was the one who threatened Mrs. Savage with a weapon. Additionally, Miss Swan has provided an invaluable favor to our family. It was she who was able to persuade Jones to surrender when he broke into my house, so my wife wasn’t hurt during his detaining…”

Henry walked away from the door.

“Well? Did you satisfy your curiosity?” his mother asked.

“Yes.” Henry answered absentmindedly, sitting down next to her.

“Dad!” A girl of about five years old ran up to him and hung at the end of her run on his neck.

“Lucy, hello!” He hugged his daughter and put her on his lap.

“Grandma Regina!” She reached for the Senator to kiss her. “I’ve missed you!” 

“Hi, honey.” Regina kissed the girl in response. “Have you and your mother arrived long ago?”

“Just now.” the girl answered. “We immediately came here from the airport. Mom will be here too. She was asked to move the car.”

A dark-haired woman in a gray suit was already hurrying towards them along the corridor.

“Lucy! Thank God you are not lost!” She squatted down next to her daughter. “Never do that again! Don’t run away from me!” 

“Did you move the car? So fast?” The girl was surprised.

“No, of course not.” her mother answered. “As soon as I realized that you were not following me, I immediately ran to look for you.” 

“It might be taken away.” the baby-girl recalled.

“Oh well.” The mother stroked her shoulder. “The main thing is that you are here.”

“Well, where else could I be.” She sighed. “You and I found out together in which room the hearing is taking place, did you forget?”

“Okay, it doesn't matter.” The woman smiled. “Just don't do it anymore, okay? Hi!” She reached for Henry and kissed him. “Good afternoon.” She nodded to Regina.

“Nancy, don’t worry. She won’t get lost and if she gets lost, she knows what to do.” Henry pulled her up, sitting her on the sofa. “I thought you were going home.”

“We were going home.” Nancy nodded. “But upon remembering you were in court, we came here. We couldn’t leave you at such a moment.” She put an arm around his shoulders. “What’s going on there?” She nodded at the door.

“I don’t know yet.” Henry shrugged. “Now my grandfather is in there, then they will interrogate more officers who participated in Killian’s detention, their captain, the head of the prison ... So far, only Emma, mother and Mrs.Savage have been listened.”

“Where's Emma?” His wife asked. “Is she in there, in the courtroom?”

“No, she's in the waiting room.” He nodded off to the side. “Under guard.”

“Is it not allowed to see her?” Nancy asked.

“Yes.” Henry shook his head. “She is under arrest until the hearing ends and then ... depends on the outcome of the hearing. How are you? How was your visit to your parents?”

“Don't ask.” She sighed. “I'll tell you later, at home.” 

“It’s going to be an interesting story.” His daughter whispered to him.

“Lucy! “ She looked sternly at the girl. “Okay, I'm sure everything will be fine.” She stroked her husband's shoulder. “Listen, I really need to park the car elsewhere before it gets towed.”

“Of course, go.” Henry nodded. “I'll keep an eye on Lucy so she doesn't get lost.” He grinned.

“Very funny!” She kissed him again and headed for the exit.

“Well, what's the story?” He leaned towards his daughter when her mother disappeared from sight. “Are your grandparents unhappy, as always?”

“Mom asked me not to tell you anything”.

The doors of the courtroom opened and Gold appeared in front of them. After him, the bailiff came out, inviting into the courtroom a man in uniform sitting nearby, at the opposite side of the corridor.

“Grandpa!” The girl jumped up to meet Gold.

“Great-grandpa.” He recalled. “I did not expect to see you today.” He leaned over and kissed the baby-girl on the cheek. “Oh, what do you have there?” He ran a hand through her hair and took out a coin from behind of her ear.

“How do you do this?” She, turning the coin in her hand, hid it in her pocket.

“It's magic, honey.” Gold smiled, sitting down on the sofa next to Regina. “How are you? What's new in the kindergarten?”

“Things are not really going well in the kindergarten.” Lucy frowned. “We fought with Jenny and now she is not friends with me.”

“You’re going to make peace again.” Gold assured her.

“Will this go on for a long time?” Henry wedged in. “How many more people are they going to be interrogated?”

“Relax.” His grandfather put a hand on his shoulder. “You've been waiting for this for fifteen years; you can wait a few more hours.”

“Yes, I could wait a few days even.” Henry agreed. “If I were sure of the result.”

“Be sure.” He leaned back on the couch, legs stretched out. “The hearing is being led by Judge Harrison. I know him. His son is in the same class as Charlotte. I think for several years now, he has already realized that it’s better not to irritate Charlotte’s dad”.

“Is this the same Harrison whose son Charlotte had a fight with in the second grade?” Regina said enthusiastically.

“That one.” Gold nodded.

“Then you definitely have nothing to worry about.” She laughed, looking at her son. “Charlotte had a bruise as a result from this fight and poor Harrison hasn’t stopped apologizing since then.”

“Two bruises.” Gold clarified. “And he will have to apologize for many more years. Where is Nancy?” He turned to his grandson.

“She's coming soon.” Henry answered. “She somehow parked wrong here.”

“How is she doing?” his grandfather asked. “What did she decide to do with work? Is she going to Baltimore?”

“No!” Henry raised his eyebrows. “Thank God no! She’ll stay here with us.”

“As far as I remember,” Gold thought, “she had brilliant prospects in Baltimore.”

“Yes, that's right.” Henry confirmed. “And that’s why no one is happy about it: neither her superiors, nor her friends, nor her parents. Especially her parents.” He looked at Lucy.

“I can't tell you anything.” the girl recalled.

“The main thing is that you are both happy with that, aren't you?” Gold asked.

“I hope both.” Henry nodded.

“If I were you, I would clarify this matter.” He looked at his great-granddaughter: “Do you want some ice cream?”

“I do!” The girl was enthused.

“Let's go.” He stood up and held out his hand to her.

***

“Well, what's news do you have here?” Gold returned to court with Lucy. “Hello.” He nodded to Nancy.

“Mr. Gold.” She stood up to greet him. “Thank you for helping Henry!”

“Henry, at least one polite person has appeared in our family!” Gold rejoiced. “However, you have nothing to thank me for, my dear.” He smiled at the woman.

“Mom, look!” Lucy held out her hand. “Grandpa bought me a bracelet!” 

“Lucy!” The woman gasped, looking at her elegant bracelet made of white gold. “This is a very expensive bracelet.” She looked at Gold.

“Not at all.” he assured her.

The bailiff stepped out of the courtroom and headed for the waiting room.

“Looks like that's it.” Henry froze, staring at the bailiff.

“Don't worry.” Regina stroked his back. “Everything will be fine.”

A minute later, Emma was already led into the hall. She walked, staring strictly down at the floor. With only one brief glance at Henry and Lucy, she disappeared behind the door of the courtroom. Henry jumped up off the couch and clung to the door again.

“Released ahead of schedule.” he repeated in a whisper after some time, and, having recoiled from the door, repeated louder already: “Released ahead of schedule!”

“Congratulations, darling.” Regina went to her son and hugged him.

He kissed his mother quickly and slightly opened the door again, listening.

“Within two months, you must undergo rehabilitation at the New York Prison Center.” the judge continued. “You will also be assigned a supervising officer for six months. You are not allowed to leave the county during this time. Now the bailiffs will take you back to prison, where you will receive your documents and personal belongings…”

After the judge finished reading out the decision, Emma went out into the corridor, accompanied by the bailiff.

“Mama!” Henry rushed to her and hugged her tightly. “Finally, it's over. Is she free already?” He turned to the bailiff. “Can I take my mother to get her documents and things?”

“You can come with us.” he answered. “Until I pass the court decision to the prison office, Miss Swan is still considered a prisoner, so I must deliver her back to prison and you can pick her up from there. I need to get another stamp in the court registry, after that we can go. You can wait for me here.” He nodded to Emma and walked quickly down the corridor, soon hiding behind one of the doors.

“Emma.” Regina went to Miss Swan. “I'm so happy for you!”

“Thank you.” Emma said uncertainly, glancing at Gold sitting next to them on the couch.

“Don’t worry, dearie,” He grinned wryly. “I do not expect you to say “thank you” to me as well.”

“And don't wait for it.” Emma frowned. “It's all because of you! Don’t think that someday I will come to forgive you for everything.”

“You know, Miss Swan…” He also got up and went to her. “I think you shouldn’t make me regret I helped you. Without me, you wouldn’t have come under this wave of amnesty. However it’s not only me, but also my wife and Senator Stern - we all made efforts to release you. Enjoy your freedom, your son, your granddaughter. And six months later, my advice to you is to leave for Storybrooke. To your mom and dad, your brother and your old friends. And live there happily ever after.”

“I know what you did to Killian.” Emma hissed, looking into his eyes.

“Keep this knowledge to yourself.” Gold smiled. “For your own good.”

“Mom, you know, we have to go.” Seeing the bailiff coming out into the corridor, Henry put his arm around Emma’s shoulders and carried her away. “Everything will be fine.” he mouthed silently, turning to his grandfather.

Nancy and Lucy hurried after them.

“Don't do any good to people.” Regina grinned, slightly hugging Gold.

“She will calm down soon.” He dismissed her.

“But at least you did the right thing?” Madame Senator said with irony.

“Yes.” Gold answered calmly.

***

“Well, how did it go?” The Queen asked, taking off her husband’s coat.

“Fine.” He hugged his wife from the waist and, pulling her to himself, kissed her. “Miss Swan is free, Henry is happy, everyone is happy.”

“You don't look too pleased.” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“It's alright.” He kissed her again.

“Do you want some dinner?” Regina rubbed her nose against his nose.

“Not now.” He gently freed from her hands. “First I’ll go for a shower, to wash this day off me”.

“Do you want me to rub your back?” The Queen looked at him slyly.

“Rub it.” Gold smiled.

He stood in the shower with his eyes closed, having his head thrown back and warm water surges falling on his face, listening to the sound of water and feeling the Queen's hands, which glided all over his body, gently massaging him, rubbing oil with a faint smell of neroli and lavender on his skin. After standing like this for a while, he turned to his wife and kissed her.

“Come to me.” He turned her back towards him and kissed her neck inch by inch, from the back of her head to her shoulders.

Leaning her against the wall, he rubbed his hips against her, pressing his stomach against her lower back, continuing kissing her neck and shoulders. Regina, with a sigh, arched towards him, bowing her head, offering for a kiss a sensitive spot behind her ear, which he also did not disregard.

“Let's go to bed.” he whispered to her in a couple of minutes.

“Why not here?” The Queen turned to face him.

“It’s inconvenient here.” He turned off the water, wrapped his wife in a towel and carried her to the bedroom.

Having laid the Queen in bed, he wiped himself dry and lay down next to her.

“You are still very tense.” She ran a hand over his shoulder. “That is no good. Turn your back.”

Laying him on his stomach, she sat on his hips and began to massage his shoulders and back. At first it is very smooth and gentle, barely touching the skin, gradually increasing the amplitude of movements and pressure. Then she went to the neck and the back of his head, gently kneading the hardened muscles. She returned to his shoulders once again, alternately massaging and kissing them.

“That's already much better.” she whispered to Gold, laying down on him and swaying a little, massaging him with her body.

A minute later, the Queen sat down again and slid her hands along his back, now paying more attention to the lower part, making her husband fidget under her.

“Much better.” Gold repeated after her. “Although not all body parts have relaxed with that.” He reached for her and Regina leaned over and kissed him.

Then she continued to rub his back until he turned around under her and rolled her over onto her back. Laying all his weight on top of her, he entered her impatiently, getting a sweet sigh from her lips. After a few sharp thrusts, he stopped, clutching at her, pressing her into the mattress, moving his hips slightly from side to side. After some time, he began thrusting again: at first very slowly and smoothly, but gradually increasing the pace, losing himself into it more and more. Somewhere on the edge of the sweet bliss, he heard her orgasmic moan and almost immediately followed her. Having finished, he leaned back, panting, stroking a little his still hard dick. 

They both lay silent for a while, leveling their breath.

“Let's go have dinner now?” Regina asked.

“No.” He pressed her to him and kissed her on the temple. “I won’t go anywhere, I feel good right here.”

“I'll bring it to you.” The Queen smiled, kissing him softly on the shoulder.

“Don't leave.” He held onto his wife as she tried to free herself from his embrace. “Lie down for a bit and then we will go again.”

“We can do that after dinner.” She slipped out of his hands. “I don’t think you ate anything during all the time you spent in court.”

“Lucy and I had some ice cream.” Gold smiled.

“Well, then my cooking it wasn’t in vain.” The Queen threw a robe on and headed for the door. “I'll be back soon.” she promised.

“You know that I love you?” He settled on the reclining bed, wrapping himself in a blanket.

“I guess.” Regina grinned, leaving the bedroom.


	42. Chapter 42

“In triangle ABC, angle A equals three times angle C. Point D on side BC has the property that angle ADC equals two times angles C. You need to prove that AB plus AD equals BC.” Charlotte read sadly.

She and her father were sitting in the living room and doing the dullest thing in the world - mathematics.

“What's so complicated?” Gold looked at his daughter. “We need to continue the part BA beyond point A and set aside segment AE to equal AD on it.” He drew a triangle on a piece of paper. “The angle EAC, which is 180 degrees, minus the angle BAC is 180 minus three times angle C, it turns out the triangles ADC and AEC are equal on the sides AC, AD is equal to AE and the angle between them. Accordingly, the angles of the triangle are found: the angle AEC is equal to the angle ADC, equal to two times angle C, the angle ACE is equal to angle C, that is, the angle BCE is equal to two times angle C, so the triangle BEC is isosceles. Thus, AB plus AD is equal to AB plus AE is equal to BE is equal to BC.”

“Yes, nothing complicated at all.” The girl nodded. “Can you write all this down now?” She moved a notebook to him.

“Charlotte, I just explained everything to you.” Her father sighed. “At least try to understand.”

“It's all too boring.” She shook her head. “Maybe it’s better to do chemistry?”

“You can do chemistry without me.” Gold grinned. “Truly darling, if you had only tried to get into this even once, you would have seen that everything isn’t so boring.”

“Do you want me to read you my presentation for the science club on the specification of white blood cells?” Charlotte did not give up. “It is very interesting and I need to rehearse before the speech.”

“I want you to know how to do a few simple mathematical tasks.” He sighed again. “You still have to pass the final math test. Even if you are not interested and don’t need it, there is no escaping this.”

“Well, it isn’t soon.” his daughter dismissed him. “And I'm sure it will be possible to get the test’s answers in advance. You’ll just show me the correct answers, I will remember them.” she assured her father.

“Charlotte, I don't understand that.” Gold shook his head. “Why don't you even want to try?”

“I have a humanitarian mindset.” she said, suppressing a grin.

“Come on, there is no such thing as a humanitarian mindset.” Her father grimaced. “The mind is either there or not. And you have it. I don’t understand why you use it so selectively.”

“Because I only put in my mind what I’m interested in.” Charlotte explained seriously. “And I don’t fill it with any rubbish I don’t need, like these triangles of yours.”

“Well, here we go...” Gold rolled his eyes.

“I don't put rubbish in my mind space.” she repeated with a smile. “I only store what I need there.”

“In time, you will realize that you need mathematics too.” her father assured her. “To put it in a language that is understandable and interesting to you: solving logical problems forms new neural connections in the brain that will come in handy more than once. For studying any other subject and for life in general.”

“But they can be formed not only by mathematics,” Charlotte objected, “but by any activity in which we have to analyze and systematize new information.”

“Okay, that's it.” Gold stopped her. “I have no strength to argue with you. Let's just finish your homework. What else is left there?”

A door slammed in the hallway and Regina and Rachel’s voices were heard. The girl appeared in the living room first.

“Daddy!’ She ran to Gold and hugged his neck. “You are home already.” 

“Hello, baby girl.” He smiled at his daughter, hugging her back. “How are you?”

“Great!” the girl began with enthusiasm. “Miss Tencer said I will be performing at the final recital of the year in the front row!”

“Wow!” Gold admired. “And how many numbers do you have?”

“Two.” Rachel answered. “We dance the first one at the beginning and then the other somewhere else in the middle of the recital.”

“And what are you going to dance?” Charlotte inquired.

“Flower Garden and Pearl Variation.” Her sister listed.

“I see, Miss Tencer’s repertoire doesn’t change.” the elder grinned.

“This is not surprising.” Gold said. “I think it is not so easy getting a new curriculum approved. So it’s easier to simply use the existing one.”

“Will you rehearse with me?” Rachel asked her sister.

“Do you think I still remember all these variations?” She was surprised. “I can only rehearse with you if you are interested in street jazz as a workout.” She winked at her sister.

“Well, I don’t know.” she thought. “Probably not yet. It would be good not getting lost in these two dances.”

“Judging by the fact that they put you in the first row, this doesn’t intimidate you.” Her father smiled at her.

“She knows everything.” The Queen, who just entered the living room, confirmed. “She’s just playing around.”

Going to the sofa, she leaned on the back, hugged her husband by the shoulders and slowly kissed him on the temple.

“I thought you would still be at the negotiations.” she remarked.

“I thought so too.” Gold nodded. “But they ended much faster than one might have expected.”

“Successfully?” the Queen asked.

“Well, give or take.” her husband answered evasively.

“Okay, you’ll tell me later.” She instinctively massaged his shoulders.

Her phone, which she had left in the hallway, rang and Regina rushed to it.

“Yes, Becky, hi.” her voice was heard. “Everything is fine, thank you. How are you? .. What do you mean: “is Adam going to go home?” They are all with you. ... What? .. No, this is some kind of nonsense.” She went back to the living room. “Gideon told me that today they are going to Adam’s place, their entire rock band would rehearse in your garage ... Well, we definitely don’t. Maybe you’ve misunderstood something? And the phone is off? Okay, listen, this is clearly some kind of misunderstanding. I'll call Gideon now and we'll find out. I'll call you back”.

“What happened?” Gold looked at his wife.

“I don’t know yet.” she dismissed her husband. “Wait, we’ll understand everything now.” she added, dialing the number. “Off ...” she muttered, dialing the next one. “Linda, hello! Aren’t our children with you?” She asked as nonchalantly as possible. “Yes, I know that they gathered at Adam, but now Becky calls me and says that they should be with us. But we don’t have them either. So I thought, maybe she didn’t understand something ... Yeah, I see. No, Gideon's phone is off too. Okay, I’ll call Victoria.” She dialed the other number again. “Tori? Listen, we are a little confused with the plans of our rock band here.” She smiled. “Do you have them today at your place? ..Yeah ... At ours ... No, we don’t have them here... That's what I’m trying to understand ... Okay, I’ll call you back ... Girls, go and really have practice.” She smiled at her daughters. “Charlotte, I'm sure you will remember everything as soon as Rachel starts showing you the variations and then you can see if she does everything right.”

“As you say.” Charlotte looked worriedly at her mother. “Come on.” She nodded to her sister, heading for the stairs.

“Regina, what's going on?” Gold asked tensely.

“Some kind of nonsense.” She sat on the sofa next to him. “Gideon said that they would be gathering at Adam’s today after school. And now his mother calls me full of confidence that they are here with us. Just like the parents of Michael and Christie.”

“Well, there must be some reasonable explanation.” her husband said without any certainty. “Maybe they stayed over too long at school?”

“Hardly.” Regina shook her head. “The classes were over long ago”.

“Let's find out.” He took his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “Miss Collins? Good day! Tell me, did Gideon have some extra classes today? Yeah ... Thank you... “ He put the phone on the table and fell silent.

“So?” His wife looked at him hopefully.

“No, he went home long ago.” Gold answered, looking thoughtfully in front of him. “Is there anyone else in their rock band, except for those you have already called?”

“No.” Regina said after thinking. “There are four of them: Gideon, Adam, Christy and Michael. And I’ve already called everyone.” She looked at her husband, bewildered. “Where could they have gone?”

“Don’t get nervous ahead of time.” He took his wife by the shoulders. “There must be an explanation for all this.” he repeated again.

“What kind?” the Queen asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know yet.” He pressed her tighter on him. “But we'll find out. Stay at home and I’ll go to the police station on the nineteenth street, to captain Reynolds. Remember how he found Henry in a couple of hours? That time he ran away from Regina? I'm sure he will find Gideon just as quickly. So we'll be home for dinner.”

“I'll go with you.” She jumped to her feet.

“Regina, don't go crazy.” Her husband took her hand and set her back down. “You need to stay with the girls. I'll call you as soon as we find everything out. Everything's going to be alright, don't worry. Think yourself what could happen to them? This is Manhattan, nothing ever happens here. This is all just some kind of misunderstanding.”

***

For the rest of the evening Regina dialed her husband’s number every now and then, receiving only a short note: “So far we know nothing, I’ll call you back.” The three of them, she and the girls, had dinner.

“Mom, what's going on?” Charlotte asked cautiously at dinner.

“What?” The Queen glanced up from her glass, which she was looking at and twirling in her hands, and looked at her daughter. “Everything’s all right, honey.” she said quickly.

“Where is Gideon? And dad?” The girl continued uncertainly.

“They will come back soon.” her mother assured her.

“Soon - when?” Rachel clarified. “I wanted dad to read to me before going to bed.”

“Soon - means soon.” the Queen answered, suppressing her irritation. “Eat dinner and go do your homework.”

“I already did.” Charlotte shrugged.

“That's fine.” Regina nodded. “Help Rachel.”

“Okay.” The girl looked again at her mother and fell silent.

“I'm sorry.” She took her daughter's hand. “I'll explain everything to you later, okay?”

Charlotte nodded silently.

The Queen didn’t sleep all night. Sitting in the living room, she turned the phone around in her hands for a long time, realizing that calling was useless. In the end she couldn’t stand it and dialed her husband’s number again, around the middle of the night. Only to receive the same: "I'll call you back." Throwing the phone to the corner of the sofa, she burst into tears of horror with her own powerlessness. After reaching the kitchen somehow, she uncorked a bottle of wine, drank almost a quarter in one gulp and then returned to the living room, for her phone. Sitting on the carpet in front of the fireplace, she repeatedly dialed her son’s number, begging the universe so that the “subscriber is unavailable” was finally replaced by beeps and his voice. The universe did not answer her pleas.

“Please ... Come on, please ...” Regina repeated pressing the call button again and again.

She couldn’t say how many hundreds of times she did it.

There was no patience in her to sit still. So she grabbed the phone, went outside and went to school on foot, looking around all the way, as if Gideon could suddenly be somewhere here, on someone else's porch or in a diner glowing in the night. When she reached the school, she dialed his number again several times. The subscriber was still unavailable. After standing for a while on the steps at the main entrance, she went back.

“Ma'am?” The police officer called out as she passed by a police car.

“Ma'am?” He repeated, stepping out onto the sidewalk. “Do you know that in New York it is forbidden to drink alcohol on the street?” He added, catching up with the Queen. “I'm afraid we have to detain you.”

“I’m sorry.” The tearful Queen looked at the bottle of wine she was holding in her hand. “I didn’t notice I was carrying it with me.”

“Didn’t notice?” the police officer asked. “Ma'am, how much did you drink today?”

“I don’t know, see for yourself.” She handed him an empty bottle. “My son is gone.” She added. “My husband is with Captain Reynolds now, he's been there since last night but they still haven't found him.”

“Mrs. Gold?” The man asked uncertainly.

The Queen nodded silently.

“Don’t worry.” He motioned for his partner to drive up to them. “We all have a picture of your boy. All police officers in the city are looking for him. And we will definitely find him, ma'am. You don’t need to be alone on the streets now, it’s dangerous. We will take you home, okay?” He opened the door of the car that pulled up in front of her.

“I can't stay at home.” Regina shook her head.

“If you want, we can take you to the station.” the man suggested. “To your husband.”

“No.” the Queen replied, thinking. “There’s no point in making him even more nervous. And my girls are at home.”

“Sit down.” He motioned for her to get into the car. “We will take you home.”

After ending up home, she dialed Gideon's number several more times, all with the same result. She went upstairs, looked into the rooms of her daughters who were sleeping peacefully, and then went to her son’s room, where, until almost before dawn, she sorted out notebooks, books, all kinds of trinkets on the shelves and the desk drawers, looking for at least some answer. There still was no answer. Right before morning, she fell asleep at the same place, his desk. 

In the morning, when the alarm clock of the phone in her pocket vibrated, she barely opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sun, which shone bright right in her face from the curtain less window. Cherishing the fragile hope, the Queen went to the bedroom, which naturally turned out to be empty. After having hastily taken a shower, she woke up the girls and went downstairs to the kitchen, preparing breakfast for them and coffee for herself.

“Has dad left already?” Rachel asked at breakfast.

“Yes.” Regina nodded. “He has a lot to do today.”

“And Gideon?” the girl continued.

“He stayed with friends yesterday.” Her mother smiled at her. “And he’ll go to school from there today.”

Charlotte silently looked at her mother.

“Let's go.” Regina got up from the table, leaving her coffee unfinished.

“But I haven’t finished yet.” Rachel protested.

“I'll give you money for the cafeteria.” The Queen smiled. “Come on, we're already late.”

After she returned home, she went to the kitchen, finishing off the cooled coffee. Putting the phone in front of her on the table, she kept turning the screen on, making sure there were no new messages. When she had almost finished drinking it, the key clicked in the lock and she, leaving the cup again, rushed into the hallway.

“Hi.” She looked at her husband’s face who had just entered the house.

He was pale and looked exhausted.

“Any news?” The Queen asked hesitantly.

“None.” Gold answered quietly. “They've already searched through the whole city, I guess. We watched videos from all the train and bus stations, police officers have been on duty there since yesterday. He is nowhere and never was anywhere. He just disappeared.” 

“But it just can't be like that.” Regina said perplexed.

“It can't.” her husband agreed. “I called that federal agent. Do you remember? We met when Snow White wanted to initiate an investigation on us. He is checking now at the neighboring states through his connections.”

“And what should we do?” the Queen asked in the same perplexed manner.

“Sit and wait for the call.” He unbuttoned a few of the top buttons on his shirt.

“From the police?” Regina specified.

“From those who may have abducted the children. If anything, they are going to call and demand something. Quite a long time has passed, they should have called us already.” Gold said slowly, voicing these words with difficulty. “The police will continue searching for them but Reynolds says that if the children are not found within a day, then there is practically no hope.”

“No.” the Queen breathed. “We can't just wait.”

“We can't.” He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “I'll lie down for five minutes and then we'll think about what else we can do, okay?”

“Rumple?” She picked up her husband who was leaning on the side, pressing him steady against the wall.

“Everything is repeating, Regina.” he muttered, losing consciousness.

***

As soon as the patrol car arrived, Regina, who had been nervously pacing along the window, bounced out of the house and ran to it. 

“Mrs. Gold.” Captain Reynolds smiled at her as he stepped out of the car.

He opened the back door and a slightly rumpled and embarrassed teenager stepped out of it.

“Gideon!” The Queen automatically hugged her son, holding him tightly to her.

But a few seconds later she released him from her embrace. Tears appeared in her eyes again.

“How could you do this to us?!” She gave her son a sonorous slap.

“Regina!” Stern. who had followed her from inside the house, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him. 

“Mom ...” Gideon looked down. “Come on, everything is okay.” 

“Inside.” Regina pointed to the door. “We'll talk there. Thank you, captain.” She smiled at the policeman as much as she could.

“Are you all going to be all right?” he asked. “Of course, I will pretend that I didn’t see what just happened, but besides that, is everything going to be alright with all of you here?”

“Everything will be fine.” Stern assured him. “Don’t worry.”

“Have a nice day.” The captain smiled, returning to the car.

“What are you doing?” David whispered to the Queen.

“Well, I haven’t done anything yet. What is necessary to do.” she answered irritably. “Inside!” She reminded Gideon, who was stamped at the doorway and she herself went after him. “Go sit down!” Entering the hallway, she slightly pushed her son forward. “I’ve already heard this whole story by the federal agents, now I want to hear it from you. First-hand, so to speak.”

Gideon obediently trudged into the living room and sat on the sofa. The Queen sat down beside him.

“I'm listening.” She nodded.

“Well, Mom.” The guy lowered his eyes again. “Nothing happened.”

“I'm listening!” She repeated, stressing the words. “And Uncle David still doesn’t know where you were found. He was busy with other things all day. Tell us how it all came to your mind.”

“Mom, really, well, nothing happened.” Gideon smiled helplessly. “When Adam said that he has friends who go to “Black Rock” and can take us with them, it was necessary to decide quickly. And that was our only chance to get there this year. But we ourselves would return tomorrow.”

“Great!” the Queen admired with irony. “Tell me what prevented you from calling me or your dad before going to a rock festival in Connecticut.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have allowed it anyway.” the kid sighed out depressingly.

“Probably.” Regina agreed. “What prevented you from calling us from there already? Or even to just not turn off the phone?”

“Well, you would come after me right away.” Gideon answered without looking up.

“And what was the plan?” His mother asked. “You thought we just wouldn't notice your absence?”

“Well, you would notice.” the teen sighed. “But I would be back in a day. Tomorrow I would have come home myself.”

“Incredible!” Regina breathed. “Do you have any idea what we went through this day? No, I'm just trying to understand your logic. Mom and Dad probably won’t allow you to go to a rock festival with your friends, so you have to run away from home, in the hopes that no one will notice it? Or how?”

“Well, I didn’t think you would go to the police right away.” Gideon shrugged. “Just a couple of days, not a big deal. I would have come back and explained everything to you.”

“David, I can't talk to him.” The Queen turned to Stern. “I'll kill him now.”

“Regina, less emotions.” He slowly lowered his hand in the air from the top to the bottom. “He is a child, he has his own logic.”

“You're not a baby anymore.” She turned back to her son. “You're fifteen. You can already start thinking about the consequences of your actions.”

“Mom, really!” Gideon repeated once more, this time in raised tones. “Nothing bad happened!” 

“Don’t shout!” The Queen hissed. “Dad is sleeping”.

“Well, see?” The son smiled at her. “No one is that worried besides you.”

“Yeah.” Regina reached out to him and sniffed. “Did you drink?” 

“Not much.” Gideon was embarrassed again. “Well, it's a rock festival. Mom, really. We didn’t want anything bad. We just wanted to get to “Black Rock” and we had such an opportunity. Yes, we turned off the phones for a short while so that our parents wouldn’t pick us up from there immediately. But this was only a couple of days…”

“Just a couple of days...” the Queen repeated. “Come with me.” She got up and held out her hand to her son.

“Regina, don't.” Stern interjected. “Don't wake him up now.”

“I won’t.” Regina assured him. “Let's go.” she said again to Gideon.

Clutching his shoulder, she dragged him along, to the second floor.

“Remember how I told you about the consequences of your actions?” She stopped near the bedroom. “Just a couple of minutes ago?”

She quietly opened the door and Gideon froze on the threshold, looking at his sleeping father, pale as a sheet, with a dropper in his arm.

“Do you see now how nobody else here was worried?” She asked in a whisper. “Let's go.” she just as carefully closed the door and dragged the boy back to the living room.

“Mom, well, I didn’t think ...” Gideon sat down onto the sofa again.

“I can already see that you didn’t think.” the Queen nodded. “But it would be valuable to. You are not five years old. You might stop and think about what your trick can cost us.”

“I’m sorry.” the teenage boy muttered, dropping his head.

All the remaining alcohol that had previously provided him with a cheerful mood despite the circumstances flew right off him.

“Is everything going to be okay with dad?” He looked intensely at David.

“It will be.” he nodded. “Come on, I'll make you some coffee.”

“What for?” Gideon was confused.

“It would be desirable for me that when your dad wakes up, you no longer smell of alcohol.” Stern explained. “So now you go brush your teeth and then you’ll drink some coffee. You can even chew a couple of coffee beans, to make sure. Then you’ll brush your teeth again. On the contrary, you need a drink.” He smiled at the Queen. “And try to reduce the degree of emotions slightly. They are not good for anyone, believe me.”

“Is this a medical recommendation?” Regina asked.

“It is.” David confirmed. “Go on. Drink some whiskey, hug your son, calm down. Everything is fine already. He is home, he understood everything. Relax.”

“You think so?” The Queen looked at her son.

“I’m sorry.” Gideon repeated. “I really didn’t want ... I didn’t think…”

“It's good that you're home.” Regina sighed, hugging her son.

He buried his forehead on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

“I love you, Mom. Both of you.” 

“And we you.” The Queen smiled, kissing the top of his head.


	43. Chapter 43

“Okay, let's try something more complicated.” The Queen thought for a second. “Astronomy”.

“A-s-t-r-o-n-o-m-y” Rachel spelled.

“That’s great!” her mother praised her.

“I think you can finish already.” Gold, standing behind his wife and gently massaging her shoulders, leaned towards her and kissed her on the temple. “Let her have breakfast in peace.” 

The children, already dressed in their school uniforms, were sitting at the table opposite their parents. The older ones were eating waffles.

“Don’t you remember that she has a contest today?” Regina turned to her husband.

“I remember.” He kissed her again, this time on the nose. “And Rachel has been preparing for it for a month now so the extra ten minutes won’t change anything. Let me warm your waffles up, they have gone cold already.” He took his daughter’s plate and went to the microwave.

“How about "electricity"?” The Queen winked at the girl.

“E-l-e-c-t-r-i-c-i-t-y” she spelled. 

“Regina, chill out.” Gold smiled softly, turning to his wife. “She knows everything. Enough.” 

“Okay.” She raised her hands in a conciliatory manner. “Enough is enough. How many classes do you have today?” She turned to her son.

“Five.” he answered after thinking for a moment. “And then we’ll go to Joe’s, we have a rehearsal.”

“Really?” the Queen asked raising an eyebrow. “And have you already asked permission from me or from dad?”

“Mom, stop it.” Gideon grimaced. “Will you give it a rest? Even dad is not mad at me for that time”.

“Well, dad never gets angry at any of you and allows you everything.” His mother grinned. “If it wasn’t for me, there would have been a complete mess over here.”

“That sounded a little offensive.” Gold sat down at the table next to his wife and put Rachel’s plate in front of her. “But in general, your mother is right.” He turned to his son. “If you are going somewhere after school, it would be nice to ask us. At least warn us in advance.” 

“So I’m warning you in advance.” the teenager sighed. “Right this morning.”

“It’s advisable to have done this before mom asked, not after.” His father smiled at him.

“I would have told you on the way to school.” Gideon assured him.

“Good.” Gold nodded. “What plans do you have?” He glanced at Charlotte.

“None.” His daughter shrugged. “After the test in algebra, I won’t be in the mood for anything, that’s obvious.” 

“You know, this can be changed.” The Queen smiled. “If you get more engaged in the subject, then tests won’t be such a terrible event”.

“I would do that if I were interested in algebra.” Charlotte grimaced. “But this is most boring thing in the world. And I have no time in general. I need to prepare for the chemistry Olympiad”.

“Well, you won’t always have to prepare for the chemistry Olympiad.” Gold remarked.

“Yes.” the girl agreed. “But there are also biology contests. They are very interesting as well. And math still remain dull, from class to class. And I still don’t understand how all this can be useful in life”.

“Okay, we'll discuss this later.” Her father sighed. “Now there is no time.” He glanced at his watch. “You all have to go to school. Get ready, I'll take you.”

“Can I drive?” Gideon asked pleadingly.

“You can.” Gold agreed. “But only to the end of our street.”

“Deal!” The young man picked up the backpack lying around under his feet and quickly walked into the hallway to put on his shoes.

“Haven’t you forgotten something?” His father asked with a grin.

“Yes, exactly!” Having only one shoe already on, he hopped on one leg into the kitchen and kissed the Queen. “Bye, mommy! Have a nice day. I promise I won’t be late”.

“You will be back at exactly eight.” she said in a mock sternly voice.

“And not a second later.” Her son assured her, heading back to the hallway.

“That’s not the only thing you forgot.” Charlotte muttered, picking up plates from the table.

“Leave it, I got it.” Regina got up from the table and, hugging her daughter slightly, kissed her on the top of her head. “Good luck on the test!” 

“Luck is my only hope.” She grinned, kissing her mother on the cheek.

“Mom, are you not coming with us?” Gold smiled at his wife. “You, like, were planning to go to the gym in the morning.”

“No.” The Queen shook her head. “Regina wrote that she wants to visit us this morning. She has something urgent to tell me and she says this isn’t a conversation we can have from the phone”.

“Where had she been, by the way?” Her husband asked. “What kind of urgent business trip can the Senator have?”

“I think we will find out soon.” Regina shrugged. “Wait.” She caught Rachel by the shoulder. “Your hairpin is unfastened.” She straightened the girl’s hair. “Bye, honey.”

After seeing her husband and children off, she returned to the kitchen and set to work on the dishes. When she was almost done, the doorbell rang.

“Hi.” Regina looked tired and a bit disheveled. “Where is Gold?”

“He took the children to school.” The homeowner looked at her sister in surprise. “What is the matter with you?”

“Well, that’s even better.” The Senator threw off her shoes and headed for the living room. “It would probably be better for us to talk in private first.”

“Sounds intriguing.” The Queen followed after her.

“I don’t even know where to start.” She walked along the mantelpiece, rearranging several trinkets, and then poured herself some whiskey.

“Maybe start with where you have been?” Her sister suggested.

“I've been to Storybrooke.” Regina gulped down the glass and returned it to the mantelpiece.

“Very interesting.” The Queen tensed. “And?” 

“Zelena needs help.” she breathed out.

“What?!” the hostess of the house broke out. “And are you seriously planning to ask Gold for it?”

“Wait, listen to me.” her sister put up her hands in a conciliatory manner. “It's not about her. Robin is missing, her daughter. It turned out that she had been interested in magic for several years and she was able to open our vault recently – since she is our niece, blood magic let her in - and began to visit it often. Zelena doesn’t know what spell she tried to cast, but one day she simply disappeared, in front of her mother, when she tried once again to take her back home. The whole Storybrooke has been looking for the girl for a week, all to no avail. So Zelena called me. But I couldn’t find her either.”

“Well,” the Queen smiled venomously, “now our sister can roughly understand and feel what my husband felt when she killed his only child that time. That's nice.” 

“But the girl isn’t to blame.” Regina shook her head. “We need to find her.” 

“Not with our forces.” her sister said firmly. “None of us: neither I, nor even Gold, will help Zelena. How did you even come up with this idea after all that she did?”

“But listen.” the senator continued uncertainly. “She didn’t kill Baelfire. Yes, she showed him and Belle the path to the Dark One’s vault. But she couldn’t have been sure which of them would open it and…”

“Oh sure!” Regina interrupted her. “Poor naive Zelena couldn’t have even thought that our little Belle would get away and Bae would open the vault instead. And then she took the dagger purely by accident and… I don’t even want to think about everything else”.

“Okay.” her sister agreed. “Perhaps she knew that. But from her point of view, she really was doing everything for the good of both herself and Rumple. She wanted to turn back time; she was confident in her success and did everything possible to make this possible. She was sure that he was mistaken, not choosing her, and wanted to prove that she was the only one that could really fix everything, that she is the best. Bae's death was only a temporary means to an end for her, a way to have Gold change his mind and make him believe in her plan, a small step on the path to great success. In her mind, she did everything right”.

“In her mind, she absolutely did everything right.” The Queen remarked just as venomously. “Obtaining complete submission from Rumple, inflicting pain on him daily, spending her whole life taking revenge on him for the fact that he didn’t choose her once upon a time. I'm sure she enjoyed it a lot.”

“But she wanted to fix everything.” Regina repeated helplessly. “And, admit it, if it hadn't been Zelena, Rumple wouldn’t have come back to life then. There would be neither him, nor your family, nor your girls. Zelena brought him back”.

“Oh please!” Her sister grimaced. “If Zelena's plan were a success, then there would be no one at all. You and I wouldn’t exist. And now you rush to help her, on the first beckoning. What's wrong with you?”

“What about your favorite theory, that everything always happens as it should?” Regina retorted. “According to that, Zelena is simply part of a greater plan, an instrument of fate, who willy-nilly gave you your family.” 

For a while, both of them were silent.

“In any case, Robin isn’t to blame for anything.” Regina repeated. “And I didn’t want to come to you; I tried to retrieve her myself. But she is nowhere to be found and it isn’t known what she did. Judging by the ingredients that disappeared from the vault a dozen different spells could have been cast and none of them suit the situation, none of them explain what happened to her. I have come to a dead end. I need help, I need Gold. Maybe he’ll be able to find the girl.”

“But did you seriously expect to get my support before asking him for it?” The Queen asked irritably. “Well then you went crazy, no worse than our sister. Do not even think to talk about it with Gold.” 

“Talk about what?” The owner of the house peered into the living room.

“Nothing.” his wife answered with all the same irritation. “Regina is already leaving.”

“Well, darling, it’s too late to hide something from me.” Gold smiled. “I’m already interested.”

“Regina has just returned from Storybrooke.” the Queen said more calmly. “And she came here to ask for help for our other sister, Zelena.”

“Well, you know, I’m probably not interested after all.” He glanced at the relative. “Whatever happened to your dear sister, it’s not a bother of mine, sorry.”

“Robin's gone.” The Senator looked hopefully at Gold. “We need to find her.”

“Do you think we need to?” He grinned. “How old is she now? Seventeen years old? Surely she was tired of living under the same roof with a psychopath.” 

“She didn't run away.” Regina shook her head. “She disappeared. She opened our vault, screwed up something with a spell and simply disappeared into thin air.”

“And what makes you think that she didn’t run away from her mother this way? Zelena still has no magic, right?” Gold asked.

“Right.” The Senator confirmed. “That's why she called me. I tried all the searching spells but none of them gave a result. I used my mirror, Cora’s globe — all for nothing.” 

“Well, that’s a pity.” Her conversationalist shrugged. “But I can’t help you, sorry. You and Zelena should look for someone else.” 

“Please, Rumple, the girl can’t be blamed her mother is Zelena.” Regina lowered her head. “She's Robin's daughter. I should have kept an eye on her all this time but I was too busy. And now she's gone. Because of me, do you understand? If I had locked the vault better, if I had ever thought of her ... Robin gave his life for me. And I didn’t even think about taking care of his daughter.”

“Regina.” The Queen gently touched her sister's shoulder and she immediately hugged her, with her nose buried in her neck.

“I need to find her.” The woman said through tears. “I know I shouldn’t have come to you but no one else can help me.”

“Regina, it's not your fault.” Gold stroked her back. “The girl has a mother who was supposed to keep an eye on her. Come here, sit down.” He sat Regina on the sofa and sat next to her, continuing to stroke her shoulders a little. “You're right: the girl has nothing to do with it.” Both were silent for a while. “She wouldn’t have been able to cast a spell of such power that even you weren’t able to find her.” he continued, when Regina calmed down a little. “Someone took the girl. However, the list of those who could do this is not so great.”

“What do you mean?” The Senator finally looked at the conversationalist.

“How many creatures do you know who live outside the realms that we can see?”, he asked.

“Fiona?” The Queen crouched next to him.

“I hope not.” He hugged his wife, leaning her against him. “In this case, we won’t be able to bring Robin back. However, it can hardly be her. She specializes in younger children”.

“Gothel?” his sister-in-law asked doubtfully.

“Gothel.” Gold nodded. “Or someone like her. Perhaps I can come up with a couple of interesting characters hiding between the realms. And what about our fairies? Did Blue try to look for the girl?” 

“Please.” Regina sighed. “There is as much benefit from Blue, as milk from a goat. She had been looking for her for a whole week, until Zelena finally called me. However as you can see, there hasn’t been more benefit from me.”

“Well, at least you haven’t wasted another week.” the conversationalist comforted her. “Neither spells nor will a globe help here. We don’t need to look for Robin but for the one who took her. So wipe away the tears and let's go. Show me what is missing from the vault. Maybe we can understand who she summoned with her inept attempts to cast spells.” 

“No.” the Queen took her husband's hand. “Regina will stay here with the children and I'll go with you. We haven’t heard from Zelena in sixteen years and now she appears in our lives again. I don’t want you to go through this alone. Plus, we don’t know who or what you will encounter there. And I'm not going to sit at home and go crazy all the time about you both being in Storybrooke. I don’t want to offend you”, she looked at her sister, “but we all know I am stronger than Regina.”

“Stop it.” Gold smiled, stroking his wife's hair. “You understand yourself that compared to me; all these twilight creatures are quite harmless. Of course they pose a serious danger to a teenage girl, but not at all to the Dark One. I’ll take Regina with me only so she can open your vault and show me what missing from it. Tomorrow evening we will be back.”

“Fine.” the Queen nodded. “I can show you and tell you everything.”

“Okay, there's no time to debate.” Gold sighed. “Get dressed.” 

***

“Are you sure you're ready to meet her again?” The Queen turned to her husband when they crossed the city line.

“No.” Gold shook his head. “Not sure at all. But maybe I won’t have to. We don’t really need her in order to search for Robin.”

“You can still refuse.” his wife remarked.

“You know that I can't.” he objected. “If even Regina failed, then this girl has no hope. Let's start with the vault.” He turned off from the main road towards the town’s cemetery.

Ten minutes later they were walking along the wet grass after the rain to a stone building towering in the distance.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t ready for this.” Gold grinned nervously, nodding at the red-haired woman sitting on the steps near the massive doors. “Meeting Zelena in the first half hour I’m in Storybrooke - this is some special luck.”

“We can start at the pawn shop.” Regina suggested. “Let's see what else we can use from the searching tools.”

“To hell with it. Let's go.” He quickly walked towards the vault.

The Queen hurried after him.

“Waiting for the rain to end, dearie?” The magician called out to the woman, sitting with her forehead buried in her knees.

“Rumple?” Zelena raised her head and immediately after this jumped to her feet. “You are here!” She rushed to Gold and impulsively hugged him. “Thank God you're here!” 

“I see your daughter’s disappearance greatly shook your already not very strong mind.” He removed her from him with hostility. “Let's have an agreement right away, dearie: if you touch me again, I will leave at that moment. I am only here because Regina asked me to and because I feel sorry for the child who was unlucky to be born from a mother like you. All this has nothing to do with you. Don’t think that something has changed between us over these sixteen years.”

“Thank you, Regina.” She turned to the Queen. “You...” Zelena stopped short. “It's not you.” she said uncertainly.

“Definitely not her.” she grinned. “But this isn’t important for you right now. Come on! Since you are here, you will show and tell us how it all happened.” She flung open the stone doors with a wave of her hand.

All three went down to the vault

“She disappeared right here.” Zelena stood beside a large potion pot still filled with muddy liquid. “But the spell she was reading ... It was some kind of nonsense from the Internet, not a spell at all. Something about the forces of nature and the elements. I laughed when I heard this stupid rhyme and ordered her to return home. And at that very moment she disappeared, simply vanished into thin air.” The witch started to cry, sitting down on a low bench near the potion pot.

“It's bad to be clueless.” Gold looked at the shelves with the flasks. “Any stupid rhyme in the right hands can gain unprecedented power. Write down what she said.” He snapped his fingers and a note pad appeared in Zelena’s hands. “Regina, what was there?” He jabbed a finger at the empty space on the shelf between the two flasks.

“Something trifle, like lemon balm or sage.” The Queen shrugged.

“Like lemon balm or sage.” her husband repeated thoughtfully.

“Some kind of nonsense.” she said after a pause, still looking around the shelves. “Nothing special was lost. Separately, all this can be added to dozens of potions, just like Regina said, but all together make no sense”.

“Give me a flask.” Gold held out his hand without looking, looking at the contents of the potion pot.

The Queen put an empty bottle in his palm and he scooped up some liquid.

“Indeed.” He shook the flask a couple of times, looking at it in the light. “Some nonsense. Okay, we’ll see.” He plugged the flask with a stopper and put it in his pocket. “Have you written it down?” He turned to Zelena.

She silently nodded and handed him the notebook.

“Or maybe not.” Gold read the text and then showed it to his wife. “Sage or lemon balm, you say?” He smiled at her. “For you and me, that’s a meaningless mixture.” He nodded toward the potion pot. “For her, that's a meaningless rhyme.” He pointed to Zelena. “But for someone who has lagged behind life for a long time, all this makes sense.”

“Laerta?” Regina asked uncertainly.

“Now you see why Regina has always been the best?” The magician grinned, casting a quick look at the red-haired witch.

“But this is also nonsense.” the Queen said, still uncertainly. “She's been dead for about a hundred years.”

“In fact, much longer than that.” her husband assured her. “But the problem is, she’s not completely dead. Being one of those ancient witches who dominated the elements, she was stuck between realms. In that gloomy place that neither a globe nor a mirror will ever show. Robin didn’t find this poem on the Internet. Someone gave it to her just like the potion recipe in order to summon Laerta and let her take the girl. Apparently, Robin has some kind of innate features that make it possible for her…”

“...to take Laerta’s place.” Regina breathed.

“Exactly so.” Gold confirmed. “What irony, right?” He smiled at Zelena. “Fortunately, the ritual is quite long. At least its preparatory stage. It takes more than one week. So probably we can still get the girl back. I'm in the shop.” He quickly kissed his wife and disappeared into the clouds of bluish smoke.

“What are you talking about?” Zelena looked helplessly at her sister. “Who is this Laerta?”

“The same force of nature that Robin summoned.” The Queen sat next to her. “She is one of the oldest witches, which explains her old-fashioned ways. Back in those days when she learned how to conjure, witches used simple means: chalk circles, salt, sage panicles, apples ... However, apples remained popular for a long time.” She cheekily added as a second thought. “And simple-looking rhymes. With which, in fact, the most powerful hermetic magic was concluded. Just as the darkness enclosed in a dagger never disappears, the power of the elements does not disappear either. And the witch that once curbed it, can return, just as the Dark One can return. But in this case not just any person is suitable. They need someone who has a natural gift. The same as the witch does. Apparently, Robin has it. And now, being stuck between the realms, together with Laerta, she’ll gladly develop it and improve it.”

“And when she fully takes possession of it...” the witch stopped short.

“She will take Laerta’s place.” Regina confirmed. “And the witch will return to our world.”

“No!” Zelena recoiled from her. “No no no. It will not happen. Listen, we have this stupid rhyme, we know what we need for the potion. We will summon her ourselves and make her return my daughter!”

“We won’t summon her.” the Queen shook her head. “Even if one of us had that special gift, she already has Robin. So you have to rely on Gold. He is familiar with Laerta and he will surely have his own methods of interacting with her.”

“Regina...” The woman fell silent, swallowing tears.

“Don’t be afraid, he will return Robin.” After a little pause, she hugged her sister by the shoulders.

“Thank you!” Zelena clung to her. “I didn’t have the slightest hope that Rumple would come after all... Regina... I'm so sorry...”

“Tell him that.” The Queen hesitantly stroked her back.

“It's too late.” Her sister shook her head.

“Well, try it regardless.” Regina shrugged. “Go home for now. It makes no sense sitting here.” 

“No, please.” Zelena begged. “I can't just sit at home and wait! I need to know what is going on. Please take me with you to the shop. Won’t you go there too?”

“Gold is unlikely to be glad seeing you.” the Queen replied calmly. “As soon as Robin is with us, I will send her to you.”

Regina snapped her fingers and Zelena disappeared into the air. She spent some time securely locking the vault herself, so no one but her and her other half could open it anymore. After that she vanished as well into puffs of smoke.

Materializing in Gold's shop, she heard the quiet voices coming from the back room. One belonged to her husband. The second, a female one, was a stranger to her. Quietly going to the curtain that separated the main hall from the back room, she carefully glanced inside. Above the large potion cauldron over which smoke spread in the air, hung the face of an elderly woman.

“...You know me, Laerta.” Gold was telling her. “You know that I can get to anyone, anywhere. You’ve picked the wrong girl.” 

“But this is the only suitable girl in general.” The witch cooed playfully, whimsically. “She has a gift. And besides that, her mother returned from the death, passing through a time portal, which ensures her unique properties. Where else can I find one like that?”

“You're out of luck.” her conversationalist sighed. “She's perfect in everything except one thing: she's my niece. So you have to return her”. 

“Seriously? Since when did you become relatives with a green witch?” the woman asked mockingly.

“This doesn’t concern you, dearie.” the magician muttered through his teeth. “The only thing that matters to you is that this girl will become your undoing if you don’t give her to me.”

“And how will this happen?” She said no less mockingly. “I'm already dead in some way. What can you do to me from over there?” 

“It won’t necessarily be me.” Gold shrugged. “Do you remember Fiona? You know, the Black Fairy, who created the dusk in which you live? How fast do you think she can get to you?”

“Wow.” Laerta laughed. “The great dark magician will complain to his mom about me.” 

“I hope it won’t come to that.” her conversationalist said calmly. “None of us will enjoy talking to Fiona. But I, unlike you, have something to offer her. I can bring her back in exchange for a small favor. You know, kind of sending you into oblivion”.

“You're lying.” the woman said uncertainly.

“Would you like to check?” Gold said with a smile.

She thought for a moment.

“To hell with you.” the witch spat out at last.

The whole room was obscured by black smoke. Regina pulled away from the curtain, coughing and covering her nose with a scarf, squatted down and pressed her back against the wall. When the smoke cleared, she rose to her feet again and looked into the back room. Near the cauldron, opposite Gold, there was a fair-haired girl who looked around in amazement.

“Robin?” The magician stepped towards her.

“Who are you?” She looked around. “And where am I?”

“You're home, dear.” Gold smiled. “Everything’s fine.” 

“No, wait.” She stepped back a few steps from him. “I ... I don't want to go home! I should be having lessons now. Laerta took me as a student, she teaches me magic. I need to get back to her. This is my calling, my life!”

“Believe me, that isn’t so.” he held out his hand to her. “Come, I will take you to your mother and then we will discuss everything.”

“No!” She took a few more steps back. “I will not return to my mother!” 

“Robin.” Regina finally went into the back room. “Honey, please listen to us. Laerta is not the one you take her for”.

“Who are you anyway?” the girl broke out. “I don’t know either of you!”

“My name is Regina, I’m your mom’s sister.” The Queen raised her hands in a conciliatory manner. “It was my vault where you cast the spell that carried you into that gloomy world. We are your aunt and uncle, your mother asked us to help her find you after Laerta took you away”.

“But I wanted it myself!” The girl did not let go. “I want to learn magic.”  
  
“You don't understand.” Regina came a little closer. “Laerta took you not to teach you but to take her place in the realm you spent the last couple of weeks in.”

“Couple of weeks?” Robin was amazed. “But I didn’t spend even a day there”.

“It can seem so to you.” the Queen nodded. “You actually were there for almost two weeks.” She carefully touched her niece’s shoulder. “That world is illusory; time in it doesn’t flow at all like it does here. Laerta has been locked in it for long and was looking for a way to return here. She would soon leave you there, instead of herself. That's why she abducted you”.

“She did not abduct me.” the girl objected. “I summoned her myself so I could become her student and she agreed”. 

“Robin, how did you even find out about Laerta?” Gold asked cautiously. “Who gave you the spell?”

“No one.” Robin shook her head. “I found it in a book myself, in the vault.”

“That's not true.” He smiled. “There is nothing about her in Regina’s books, believe me. So who told you about the witch and gave you the spell?”

“I already said: nobody.” The girl shrugged. “I found it in the book.”

“Robin, you're still in danger. Just like your mother.” The Queen carefully looked at her niece. “The one who tried to bring Laerta back by exchanging her for you will not leave you alone. Now it may seem to you that this is a friend, but it’s not. And very soon you will understand it yourself. This someone will be very angry because their plan failed. This someone will want revenge. If you don’t tell us who it is, we cannot protect you. Your mother doesn’t have magic and you are too weak and inexperienced. Unlike the one who gave you the spell”.

The girl was silent.

“Dear, what is the date today?” Gold asked suddenly.

“The twelfth.” Robin answered, bewildered.

“Very well.” He nodded. “Let's go outside and check something. Come on.” Going up to the curtain that separated the back room from the rest of the shop, he motioned for the girl to follow him.

“Okay.” She grinned. “But what are we going to check?”

“You will see.” The shopkeeper smiled.

Going out into the street, he threw a coin into a newspaper machine standing near the shop and pulled out a fresh copy.

“Do you think this is today's newspaper?” He clarified with girl.

“That’s for sure.” Robin rejoiced even more.

“Very well.” Gold repeated. “Please take it and tell me what date is on it.”

“What kind of nonsense.” The girl laughed, taking the newspaper from his hands. “Naturally ...” She paused, looking at the newspaper. “... Twenty-third?” She uncertainly finished the phrase.

“Exactly so.” The man confirmed. “So you spent a week and a half with Laerta, as you can see. It’s a little strange that you didn’t know about it beforehand, isn’t it?” 

“There has to be some explanation.” Robin muttered.

“Yes.” Gold nodded. “And my wife just said it to you. Will you talk to us?”

The girl nodded silently.

“Let's go.” He took her under the elbow and carried her along, back to the shop.

After listening to Robin's inconsistent story, the Golds looked at each other in silence.

“It’s a coven?” The Queen said uncertainly.

“It's a coven.” Her husband confirmed. “And they won’t leave it like that. They are unpredictable and will find a way to get through any protection we place. We cannot even be completely sure who is in the coven at any given time. Different replacements and rearrangements occur then and there. So we don’t know exactly what we need to protect her from”.

“Can you really get Fiona there?” Regina asked quietly.

“Of course not.” He grinned. “And Laerta will realize that soon.”

“So there remains only a world without magic.” she suggested, still uncertainly.

“It does.” Gold nodded. “Well, honey, it's time for us to go see your mother.” He smiled at the girl.

After which all three were transferred to Zelena’s house.

“Robin!” Zelena rushed to her daughter and hugged her tightly pressed on her. “You are alive! You are back! Honey, how glad I am to see you!” 

“Me too, Mom.” The girl stroked her shoulders.

“Rumple.” The woman stepped toward the magician but froze under his gaze. “I don’t know how to thank you.” she muttered, averting her eyes from him. “And I know that doesn’t mean anything now, but I'm sorry...”

“That’s not needed dearie.” Gold said coldly. “I'm not doing this for you. Pack your things, you are leaving Storybrooke”.

“What?” Zelena was confused. “Why?”

“Because it’s too dangerous for your daughter to stay in any of the magical realms.” he answered calmly. “She disturbed forces that none of you could compete with. So you have to go to a world without magic.”   
  
“But where can we go?” The woman was even more confused. “We have nothing but this house. I work as a midwife at the local hospital, my salary is barely enough for a living. We have no savings and this house costs nothing”.

“Don't worry about that.” Gold continued just as coldly. “I will buy you an apartment in New York. And then Regina will help you. Not my wife.” He specified, catching Zelena's gaze. “Her other half. Well, you know, the one…” He stopped short. “Robin, honey, go pack your bags, there’s not much time.” He smiled at the girl. “The one who loved Robin.” he finished when she disappeared behind the door. “She wants to help his daughter and I want to help her. So you have a chance to start all over again. In some place where both of you will be safe”.

“Rumple...” Zelena breathed, sinking into a chair.

“I haven’t finished.” The magician interrupted her. “Miss Swan, I think, will gladly agree to take you to New York. For the six months she’s spent in the small town of Storybrooke, she’s probably missed her son and granddaughter and would be glad to see them again. She will be able to take care of you along the way. So now you go pack your things. We will escort you to the Charmings and say goodbye then. And we never meet again. At least with you. That's all. You can start packing.” he finished.  
  
It had long been dark outside the window and the Queen, while mother and daughter were packing, had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room of their house. Waking up, she found herself sleeping in Gold's mansion. He was not in the house. The car was near the porch. Upon dialing her husband’s number, she immediately got the answering machine. At first she wanted to be magically transported to his shop but then she decided that her sudden appearance might be inappropriate. So in the end, she chose a more traditional way of moving, especially since the keys to the car were on the table in the hallway. To her surprise, the store was locked and sealed with magic. For several minutes she stood near the window, wondering where her husband could have gone and then went to the place they started their visit to the town.  
  
There was no one in the cemetery at this early hour except Gold sitting on the grass covered with dew. He sat with his legs bent beneath him, his hands interlocked, looking inseparably at a polished plate with a name on it.  
  
“Rumple?” Regina called softly, slowly approaching her husband. “Honey.” She knelt beside him, also sitting on the grass and gently hugged his shoulders.  
  
“I'm sorry, I thought I would be back before you woke up.” He put his hands on hers, arms folded across his chest.  
  
For a while, both were silent.  
  
“This is another reason I don’t want to come back here.” Gold finally said.  
  
“Bae?” Regina asked.  
  
“Bae.” Her husband nodded. “He always wanted me to become simply a human again. To return to a normal life. He did everything to make this possible.” He laid his head on his hand and closed his eyes.  
  
The Queen hugged him tightly.  
  
“He brought me back at the cost of his own life, so that I’d get one more chance.” He was silent for a while. “A chance to fix everything. A chance to live life differently. But I was still scared. Like the very first time, the time when I couldn’t give up newly gained power for the sake of living a normal human life. But now that you’re there, I’m not afraid anymore, Regina. Now I can come here and tell my boy that everything was not in vain. That he gave me the opportunity to become a happy man. Do you understand? Just a man. And that we still...“ He stopped short, clutching his wife to himself. “...will be able to meet again.” He finished through the tears.   
  
“Sshsh, all is well.” She alternately kissed his eyelids, rocking him slightly in her arms.  
  
“Let's go home.” A couple of minutes later Gold struggled to get on his feet, leaning on his wife’s shoulder, and then extended his hand to her.  
  
“Let's go.” She nodded, getting up.  
  
“Would you sit a bit behind the wheel?” he asked as they reached the car.  
  
“Of course.”  
  
She took a blanket out of the trunk and covered her husband with it when he sat in the passenger seat and reclined.  
  
“Sleep a little.”  
  
She kissed his temple, going around the car, stepping behind the wheel and gently pulling away while watching him out of the corner of her eye wrap himself with the blanket and falling asleep.


	44. Chapter 44

“You definitely haven't changed your mind?” The Queen hugged the youngest daughter by the shoulders.

“Mom.” Rachel sighed. “You are asking me this question for the third time and this is only at the airport.”

“Okay, I won’t do it anymore.” Regina smiled.

“Look, she doesn’t even ask us.” Charlotte grinned, nudging Gideon slightly.

“You are going to camp for the fourth and fifth time, everything is perfectly clear with you.” her mother dismissed her.

“Well, we could suddenly change our minds too.” her daughter remarked slyly.

“After waiting for a whole year.” The Queen nodded. “So, have you decided not to go?” she asked in all seriousness.

“Charlotte!” A girl who approached the reception desk nearby waved at them.

“Monica!” Charlotte rejoiced. “That's it, Mom, bye!” She quickly kissed her mother on the cheek. “Daddy.” She hugged Gold.

“I'll miss you.” He hugged her back, clutching her on him.

“Yes, me too.” She eagerly freed herself from his embrace. “Bye-bye!” 

“You never answered me.” The Queen called out with a laugh when she was already rushing to her friend.

“I'll think about it again.” Charlotte replied cheerfully, turning quickly around as she walked.

Shortly before the beginning of registration, escorts from the scout camp appeared and began to arrange the children, each in their own group. Gideon, seeing his counselor, also said goodbye to his parents and hurried to the front desk.

“Who is Rachel going with?” Gold turned to his wife.  
  
“That's what I'm looking for.” She leafed through the contract. “She's in the third squad with Miss Linnet.” She peered into the crowd. “There she is.” The Queen nodded toward a short brunette with a number three sign.

“So you definitely haven't changed your mind?” The father smiled at his daughter.

“Dad! Enough is enough!” She was indignant.

“Okay.” He hugged the girl by the shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Call us every day, okay?”

“Sure.” Rachel promised.

“If anything happens, we will come immediately and pick you up.” The Queen reminded her.

“May I go already?” The girl sighed.

“Let's go.” Gold grabbed her bag and headed for the desired group.

After seeing the children off, they sat down to drink wine in a cafe at the same place at the airport.

“Rachel will be fine, right?” She looked at her husband.

“Regina, calm down already.” He added some wine to her glass. “Each time it’s the same thing, with every child. And all of them are always delighted with the scout camp”.

“Well, yes.” Regina agreed. “But she’s still so young.”

“She's twelve years old.” Gold stroked his wife's hand. “She’s going to have a great two weeks without her parents.”

“This is such an unusual sensation.” the Queen said thoughtfully. “For the first time in seventeen years, you and I are alone.”

“Well and how is the feeling?” Her husband inquired. “Pleasant or so-so?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t understood it yet.” Regina shrugged. “So far just strange. Just imagine: you and I are together and the whole house is only ours, for two weeks.”

“It’s not necessary for us stay at home.” Gold noticed.

“Really?” The Queen looked at her husband with interest. “But I have already begun to like this idea. I have already begun to imagine how I will spend two weeks in bed with you”.

“But won’t we get bored, in two weeks?” He asked with a grin.

“Hardly.” the Queen smiled. “I think we will have a great vacation.”

“I have another suggestion.” He took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his windbreaker, opened it and took out several pieces of paper, spreading them out like a fan on the table. “Tomorrow is the opening night, a new production of La Traviata. What do you say?” 

“Vienna?” Regina read the inscriptions on the tickets. “It's 8 hours of flight.” She sighed. “Do you really want to?”

“And you don’t?” Gold was surprised.

“Well, I don’t know.” the Queen continued. “I was already somehow tuned in for a quiet family vacation. In bed.”

“I think there’s some kind of bed we can find in Vienna too.” Her husband grinned. “Seriously, Regina, this is Verdi's best opera in one of the best theaters in the world. And we have tickets for the central box, which were not so easy to buy, by the way. By evening, we will be at the hotel. Well, at night local time. We’ll sleep, we’ll go to the theater tomorrow and then, if you want, we can return home. Come on, check-in has already started.” 

“Already?” Regina was surprised in turn. “So we're going right now, just like that?”

“What’s bothering you?” Gold asked.

“Well that I don’t have anything to change on arrival for example, and I don’t have any face cream, lipstick or even a comb.” The Queen spread her hands. “Nothing at all. Not even a charger for the phone.”

“I'm sure there are shops there too.” Her husband assured her. “So this is not a problem. Let’s go.” He stood up and held out his hand to her. 

“No, wait, I can't do it just like that. Suddenly fly to another continent.” Regina protested. “I need to organize, get things together. We need to move the car!” She realized. “It’s on a temporary parking lot.”

“It will be moved, don't worry.” Gold nodded. “I have already arranged it.”

“And the keys?” the Queen asked bewildered.

“We will receive them upon arrival, in the locker room. Let’s go!” He repeated. “Check-in ends in half an hour”.

“This is some kind of madness.” Regina muttered, getting up from the table. “What if Rachel will want to come home eventually?”

“She won't.” her husband assured her. “And you and I are not flying to Mars, only to Austria”.

“Okay, I get it: it's useless debating with you.” The Queen shook her head. “Where is our front desk?”

“There we go. So much better already.” He quickly kissed her on the cheek and took her arm, dragging her along.

They reached their room at the Ambassador Hotel around eight by New York time, but, weary from the trip, collapsed into bed, barely having time to take a shower.

“How have we stooped so low?” Regina grinned, settling on her husband’s shoulder. “It’s eight o’clock and we are already sleeping.”

“Well, by local time it’s already two in the morning, so everything is fine.” Gold answered, hugging his wife. “Sleep.” He lightly kissed her temple.

“Good night.” The Queen, yawning, buried her nose in his neck.

“Yeah.” He pressed her tighter on him.

Waking up in the morning, Gold found that he was in bed alone. Looking around, he saw the Queen sitting on the windowsill with a cup of coffee, admiring the cityscape. For a while, he silently enjoyed watching the graceful curves of her naked body, her brown hair scattered over her shoulders and the sun glare on them, her burgundy nails which stood out sharply against the background of a snow-white cup she held with both hands, like a bowl, and was also cast with a golden glare. 

“Someone was going to spend all two weeks in bed with me.” he finally spoke. “And where are you in fact?”

“It's never too late to return to this plan.” His wife turned towards him.

She put the cup on the windowsill, easily and silently jumped to the floor, went to the bed, ducked under the covers and pressed herself against her husband.

“Good morning.” She smiled, kissing him.

“Good morning.” Her husband kissed her back. “You are so beautiful.” he added quietly, running a hand through her hair.

“Really?” Regina grinned. “Did you just notice today?”

“Oh you.” Gold laughed. “How can anyone talk to you at all?”

“Well then, I won’t do that anymore.” the Queen said conciliatorily. “Come on, again. We’ll replay everything.”

“Be quiet already.” He pulled her to him and kissed her again.

Then he raised himself on his elbow and, laying his wife on her back, began kissing her neck, her collarbones and her shoulders leisurely, stretching out the pleasure while also stroking and massaging her hips, now and then easily touching her crotch with the edge of his palm. Slowly dropping below, he reached her hips with his lips, first tracing along their inner side with light kisses and then with the tip of his tongue as he slid his hands along the outer side, the calves and the ankles.

“Come here.” Regina pulled him up.

“You never let me get to the fun part.” Gold grumbled, dutifully returning to her neck.

“Quite the opposite.” She squeezed his hand with her hips when it once again ended up in between them.

“Well, let it be so.” He smiled, slowly penetrating into her, first with one finger, then with two.

The Queen arched towards him with a sigh, clutching his palm. Having almost immediately felt the necessary spot inside, he began to massage it just as slowly. At first with ease, gradually increasing pressure and building up the pace, enjoying the sensation of her hot moisture on his fingers, her moans and her kisses which randomly showered his neck, shoulders and chest. Ignoring his own excitement as long as possible. Only when the heaviness in the groin became unbearable, he removed his hand and entered her. Frozen in place, he took a few deep breaths first and only then began to move in her, very slowly, trying to think about something else. However, this didn’t help much. A couple of minutes later he poured into her with a groan. Immediately slipping out of his wife, he returned his hand to its original place, continuing to massage her with increasing intensity, and a minute later she joined him, squeezing his shoulders and snubbing her nose in his neck.

“Let's go find some nice place for breakfast.” Gold suggested when they both had cooled off slightly.

“Why? Doesn’t this place suit you?” Regina was surprised. “We can use room service.” 

“No, then we won’t get out of bed at all.” He grinned. “It’s almost one p.m. and we still have to buy some decent clothes for the evening. Also, I don’t know about you but I want to walk around the city. I haven’t been here for a long time and never without the children. It’s also probably an interesting sensation when you don’t hear all the time: “Mom! Dad! Let’s go! Let’s buy it! I'm tired! I want ice cream! We are bored!"

“Perhaps.” the Queen agreed. “Let’s go to the “Lounge” in a skyscraper near the canal: we will take a walk, have breakfast and look at the city from above, check if nothing has changed in it during the time we weren’t here.” 

“Better to go to the “Loft”, in “Sofitel”.” he objected.

“The “Lounge” is a hundred meters higher.” Regina remarked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Her husband shrugged. “The city is clearly visible from “Sofitel” and the cuisine in the “Loft” is much better. Not to mention how much better Nouvel’s architecture is and how much nicer it his building is than in this ugly Perrault skyscraper. It’s forbidden to build all kinds of rubbish in Paris, so he got it here.”

“Okay, let it be the “Loft”.” the Queen surrendered.

***

“You know, the view from the eighteenth floor is even better than from the fifty-seventh.” The Queen sipped a cocktail, sitting near the glass wall of the “Das Loft” restaurant.

“I didn’t even doubt it.” Gold answered. “Vienna is not a very tall city. Well, if you don’t take Perrault’s creation into account of course.” He grimaced, looking at the gray winding skyscraper that was visible nearby.

“You have some unhealthy fixation on this Perrault.” Regina sighed. “Turn away from it, do not look. Look at the roof of the cathedral.” She nodded at the building, covered with colorful tiles. “Look at the town hall. Generally, in any other direction. And if it annoys you so much that you can’t look at anything else, we probably should have gone to the “Lounge” in this skyscraper. This is the only place where it’s not visible.”

“Yes.” her husband agreed. “But it’s not less ugly from the inside. Okay, finish your drink and let's go. Everyone will be dressed to the nines at the central box of the opera and we will look very foolish in jeans. So we still need to buy some clothes and whatever else you were missing yesterday.”

“Well, I guess I don’t remember what I was missing yesterday.” she dismissed.

“Really?” he became interested. “Listen, well, you need to drink more often ... What are you drinking there?”

“Champagne with Aperol and some white wine.” Regina answered, looking at the glass.

“Fine.” Gold smiled. “We need to find out if they pour the rest to go.”

“Well, stop it!” The Queen got a little playfully indignant.

“Come on, say it already.” He leaned on his arm and looked mischievously at his wife.

“I'm glad we flew here.” Regina smiled. “It was a really good idea”.

“Now this morning has become almost perfect.” Gold said with pleasure.

“Almost.” the Queen specified.

“I still need to look at you in a new evening gown.” Her husband explained. “Better yet, in a few. Then it will be safe to say that I received all possible pleasures from this morning.”

“Imp.” Regina laughed. “Where are we going?”

“At Kärntnerstrasse.” He waved to the waiter to bring the bill.

“In “Steffl”?” The Queen asked again.

“God forbid!” Gold raised his eyebrows. “There was a nice little shop nearby, as far as I remember. I think it’s still there”.

***

They walked a little along the promenade before heading to the famous street filled with the most famous shops and shopping centers. That “nice little shop” turned out to be a rather expensive boutique in one of the old houses in early Baroque style. Its silence and coolness contrasted pleasantly with the noisy street bathed in the hot sun. There was no one in the shop except them, and two perfectly dressed, combed, with make-up on girls circled around the only visitors.

“Try this on.” Gold took off from the hanger one long, narrow dress in a dark blue color.

“No, that won't do.” The Queen shook her head. “Have you seen the cutout on the hip?”

“So what?” He did not understand.

Regina sighed. “At fifty years old such a cutout can no longer be worn.”

“Well, I think it depends on the hips, not the age.” Her husband shrugged. “Try it on and then you’ll see if this cutout is suitable for you or not.”

“Your husband is right, madam.” One of the saleswomen cautiously interposed. “With your figure you can afford to wear any kind of cutouts”.

“See.” He smiled at his wife. “The girl agrees with me”.

“Well, I bet.” She grinned. “If I were selling dresses at the price of a car, then all of them would perfectly suit even you”.

“Just try it on.” Her husband sighed. “Then you can say if such a neckline suits you, if it doesn’t fit, if you can wear it at fifty, if you can’t ... Do you have a Brut?” He turned to the saleswoman.

“Of course!” she readily answered.

“Good.” Gold nodded. “Bring us the bottle. This is going to take us a long time”.

“Do you think this will help persuade me to accept a dress with cutouts all over?” The Queen asked with irony.

“I think it will help me have a good time.” He hugged his wife slightly and quickly kissed her on the temple. “And spend less energy debating. Go try them on.” He handed her half a dozen dresses he had already removed from the hangers.

***

“Well, and who was right?” The Queen once again left the fitting room, this time in a blood-red dress with a deep cut out on the back.

“Me again.” Gold smiled, sipping champagne, comfortably sitting in a wide low armchair opposite her. “You are as dazzling in this dress as you were in the previous three.”

“Have you seen it from this side?” Regina grinned, turning her back to her husband.

“Not yet, but now I have.” He looked at his wife with pleasure. “And from this side it is even better.”

“It's not for my age.” The Queen shook her head.

“But for your figure.” Gold retorted.

“No, I refuse to go somewhere wearing this dress.” Regina stated. 

“Okay, you'll wear it at home.” her husband agreed. “Is there anything else left?” He nodded towards the fitting room.

“It is.” The Queen sighed.

“Good.” He smiled. “Let's take a look.”

The Queen changed clothes several more times, showing a wide variety of cutouts, draperies, trains and the hats, shoes and handbags attached to them, which the enterprising saleswomen picked out for her.

“This is the last one.” Regina stood in front of her husband in a golden dress of the finest cut, which made it possible to see all the charms of her figure, despite the fact that it was completely closed up.

“I like everything.” He concluded, looking at his wife. “Wrap it up.” He smiled at the girl, standing waiting not far from them.

“This one?” She specified.

“Why only this one?” said Gold surprised. “Wrap everything we tried on. And don't forget the shoes. Yes, and find us something simpler for walking around the city”.

“Of course!” the girl answered with enthusiasm.

“We still need to choose a suit for you.” The Queen sat down on her husband’s lap. “Don’t forget about it. We’ll pick something no less form-fitting and erotic.” She winked at him with irony.

“Oh please.” He grinned. “A good suit is still impossible to buy; it must be sewn by order. But, since I can’t see myself, it’s absolutely not important. So I'm ready for anything in advance, you can have all the fun you want”.

***

“Everyone was looking only at you, not the stage.” Gold threw his jacket over his wife’s shoulders and lightly took her by the waist.

They were walking slowly along a street shimmering with night lights.

“And in vain.” Regina responded. “The production was simply magnificent. I haven’t seen such a production in the Met for a long time”.

“Well, really?” He grinned. “See? And you wanted to spend all two weeks at home or at the lake.”

“I already said you were right.” She took his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “Do you want me to say it again?”

“I never get tired of hearing it.” He lowered his head and kissed her nose. “But now it’s not about that. What do we do next? Stay here? Go back home? Or shall we go somewhere else? By the way, everyone praises Macbeth at the Covent Garden and you and I haven’t seen it yet.”

“We’ll decide later.” She snuggled closer to her husband. “Now we will go back to bed. We haven’t been there since morning”.

“Agreed.” He smiled.


	45. Chapter 45

“Hello, I'm looking for Gideon.”

On the threshold of a two-story house in the suburbs of Washington stood a short, middle-aged, brown-haired woman.

The slim black-haired girl with blue eyes who opened the door, looked at the visitor with interest: dressed in a cool blue dress barely reaching her knees and an icy colored jacket, in platform shoes with high heels. She made a rather strange impression.

“He's somewhere around here.” The girl finally came to her senses. “I'll go find him now. And you?”

“I ...” The woman hesitated. “I’m his... You know, just call him, please. I have come a long way to see him. I need to talk to him.”

“Okay.” She hid inside the house.

The woman looked around. The parking area near the house was crowded with cars.

“How can I help you?” She heard a voice behind her.

Turning abruptly, she saw a tall man with brown hair and eyes standing in front of her.

“Gideon!” The guest smiled. “You look exactly the way I saw you in my dreams.”

“What?” The man was confused.

“I know.” She began in a confused manner. “It will sound crazy... And unexpected... And I don’t know where to start... You see, Gideon... I am your mother. I understand that it will be difficult for you to believe in it... You know nothing about me…”

“Oh.” He stepped towards her on the porch and closed the door behind him. “Well, off course I know about you, Miss French.”

“What?” Belle was confused. “But how? Where from?”

“From my parents.” Gideon nodded. “They assumed you wouldn’t give up trying to contact me. Therefore, several years ago they told me everything, so that your appearance wouldn’t be a shocking surprise for me.”

“That's how it is.” she breathed. “Knowing your parents, I can imagine what they told you about me!”

“Knowing my parents,” the man smiled, “I can assure you they told me everything as it is, there is no doubt. How did you find me, Miss French?”

“Call me simply Belle.” Belle muttered. “I understand that "mother" is…”

“Sorry, Miss French, it’s more convenient for me like that.” Gideon interrupted. “So how did you end up here?”

“An old acquaintance helped me.” his conversationalist answered evasively.

“Miss Swan.” He nodded. “Well, it is impressive that over all these years she hasn’t lost her heroic ardor.”

“Do you know about her as well?” She was astonished.

“Of course.” her son confirmed. “I know our whole story with you.”

“I'm not sure you do.” Belle shook her head. “You think I abandoned you? That I left you?” 

“Well, for starters, you abandoned my father, didn’t you?” He carefully looked at the woman. “And only after that, wanting to separate us from each other forever, you did abandon me in turn.”

“This isn’t true!” Belle exclaimed. “I did not abandon you! I wanted to give you a better chance! A chance for a normal life! Then, someday, I would find a way to get back to you! I wanted to be a good mother to you!” 

“No, Miss French. My mother is the one who wanted to be a good mother, who was able to prevent all this madness.” Gideon said calmly. “Who had been around all these years. She read books to me, walked with me, endured my whims, did my homework with me. She courageously survived my difficult teenage years. She was with me then and there. Not later, someday.”

“You think I didn’t want the same?” Miss French continued in a raised voice. “But your father...”

“Please, Miss French.” her son interrupted again. “After all that you have done to my father... Excuse me, but I don’t want to hear anything from you about him.”

“After everything I did to your father?!” Belle was amazed. “I loved him! I wanted us to have a good family! I wanted him to be a good man! But he betrayed me so many times, lied to me and used my trust! I wanted to be a good wife and a good mother but he ruined everything! He is…”

“Once again, I’m asking you to refrain from commenting on my father.” Gideon stopped her.

“But I was trying to get you back!” She did not give up. “You know that yourself, since you know about Emma’s existence. I wanted to be your mother! And for this I spent 25 years in prison thanks to your father. Do you think this is fair?!” 

“Probably considering what you did, you were desperate. And humanely, I feel sorry for you.” her son answered her. “But as an assistant to the district prosecutor and as the same child who could have lost his family, I consider the sentence adequate.”

“I don't know what they told you, but they got what they wanted.” Belle muttered. “You hate me!”

“I'm sure it was like that when I first found out about you.” Gideon agreed. “But then it passed. After all, in the end, everything really turned out for the best. If you hadn’t abandoned my father, if you hadn’t given me up, my parents would probably have never married. I wouldn’t have my mom, my sisters, my whole family, my life. So in the end, I realized that I am grateful to you. You really gave me a chance for a better life. Your mistake was only that you thought it would be away from my father. My best life is away from you in fact.” 

“But you don’t know me at all!” Miss French protested.

“The problem is that I don’t want to get to know you.” The man shrugged. “I will say again that I feel sorry for you. You really have lost a lot and obviously still suffer from your mistakes. But I don’t want to let you into my life. And I don’t feel obligated to do this. I must ask you to leave, Miss French.”

“Gideon.” Belle said pleadingly. “Please give me a chance!”

“Of course, I will give you a chance,” Gideon nodded, taking a checkbook from his pocket. “A chance to fix your life somehow.” He wrote out a check and handed it to Belle. “Obviously you need money now. There isn’t much here but you’ll have enough for a new start. That’s all I can do for you.”

“No, Gideon!” She backed away from him. “I won’t take it!”

“You will take it.” He put the check in the pocket of her jacket. “And you won’t bother my family ever again. I don’t want to be rude to you, much less threaten you, but if you appear here again or, God forbid, in my parents’ house, this will end badly. Now you really have to leave. Another time, I would have given you more time. I understand that you want to ease your soul and that you have accumulated a lot of things over the years, but you have chosen a very inappropriate day. Tomorrow is my wedding. Today, my parents are coming. And they will be here at any moment. Mom called me shortly before you arrived.”

“I'm not afraid of meeting them!” Belle blurted out. “And you? Aren’t you worried that when we come face to face, our stories will not coincide? And the image of your world that you protect so much could be shaken?”

“Not at all.” Gideon grimaced. “I'm worried about my parents. They are both already not so young and they don’t need at all such a hassle as it would be meeting you. They are already nervous enough because of my wedding. Your presence here is completely unacceptable.”

“Gideon.” The same black-haired blue-eyed girl leaned out of the second-floor window. “I need you right here, right now.”

“Two minutes, Tali.” He smiled at the girl.

“Is that your bride?” Miss French asked enthusiastically.

“Who? Tali?” Gideon grinned. “No! This is my cousin.”

“Cousin?” Belle was surprised. “But how?”

“Well, you know that my mom has a sister.” he began patiently. “And you probably even saw her on the news. Senator Regina Stern. Tali is her daughter. This is called a cousin.”

“Sister?” The woman grinned. “Is that what they call each other?”

“I know this story, too.” Gideon sighed. “Please, Miss French, you are really starting to make me nervous. I don’t want to get you out with force but, you know, dad is not feeling so well lately and I don’t even want to imagine what could happen if you meet here in my house.”

From the street, a dark blue Bentley turned into the courtyard and at that moment Gideon grabbed Belle by the elbow and dragged her into the house, having encountered a gray-haired man in the hallway.

“David!” He breathed a sigh of relief. “Please get her out of here. This is Miss French.”

“Miss?...” Stern asked perplexedly. “Oh, that one?” He realized.

“Exactly.” Gideon confirmed. “And now’s not the right time at all. My parents are already here.” He nodded towards the parking lot. “You understand they shouldn’t see her. Take her to the back door and put her in a taxi. I’ll call one now”.

“I'll arrange everything myself.” David dismissed him, taking the woman's arm. “Go to your parents.” 

“Thank you!” He slipped out the door.

“Let’s go, dear.” Stern pulled Belle along.

They went into the kitchen, where the woman stood still at the open window, looking at her son through the light curtains, who was walking quickly to the car.

“Miss French.” David tried to move her along gently. “You really need to leave.”

“I know.” Belle whispered. “Please give me another minute. I won’t do anything, I promise. I just want to look at him a little more.”

Gideon, meanwhile, had already approached the Bentley and opened the driver's door, from which the Queen flew out to meet him.

“Mommy!” He hugged her.

“Hi little one!” She hung on his neck, showering him with kisses.

“I’ve missed you.” Her son pressed himself against her, resting his forehead on her shoulder.

“Me too.” The Queen stroked his shoulders.

He kissed her quickly and after going to the other door offered Gold his hand.

“How are you feeling? Are you tired?” he asked, helping his father getting out of the car.

“All is well.” he assured him. “Won’t you tell me that you missed me?”

“Well, isn't that obvious?” He hugged his father, holding him tightly. “I'm so glad to see you. Both of you.” Continuing to hug Gold with one arm, he extended the other to the Queen and pressed her again on him. “I love you both very much”

“I don't think he wants to get married.” She looked at her husband.

“Mama! Don't start again.” Gideon laughed, letting go of his parents. “We have already discussed everything. Many times. I love Judy! And all will be well. And I will complete the dissertation, yes.” he added under the Queen's inquiring gaze. “I have already promised you that about ten times.”

“I hope so.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Where are your sisters?”

“Charlotte arrived in the morning but already left for the city, she has some things to do.” he answered. “And Rachel will arrive in the evening, her flight is delayed.”

“I see.” the Queen nodded. “Have Regina and David already arrived?”

“David is somewhere here.” He waved his hand vaguely toward the house. “And Regina will come tomorrow, she has a press conference today.”

“Well, who would doubt that Madame Senator would be too busy to arrive on time!” His mother faked indignation.

“Don't worry, she will be here on time.” Gideon kissed her on the cheek. “Guess who came along with David?”

“Tali?!” Regina exclaimed. “Where is she? I need to cuddle her urgently! Now! Right away!”

“She's in my office.” Gideon smiled. “She is studying the case materials... No, I won’t say it.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “And is this definitely legal, given that she is a trainee in a law firm?”

“Well...” Gideon said. “Let's assume that you did not ask me this question. Just go and hug your niece already.” 

“I will do just so.” The Queen walked quickly toward the house.

“Come on.” He took his father’s arm. “I will take you to yours and mother’s bedroom”

“Just like that?” Gold said surprised. “Generally, I planned to drink some whiskey with David, since he is already here. I haven’t seen him for a long time either, with these endless trips of his. As if there was no one else to give students lectures other than Professor Stern.”

“Listen, I don't know where he is.” Gideon said as neutrally as possible. “He got a call from the clinic right before your arrival. As far as I understand, they need his consultation about one of the patients. Generally he removed himself somewhere, immersed in conversation.”

“Well, that’ll go on for a long time.” Gold sighed. “David is very thorough in his consultations”.

“Exactly so,.” Gideon nodded. “And you should lie down and rest off the road, for starters.”

“You are just like your mother.” His father grinned.

“I’m related to her.” He smiled, pulling Gold into the house with him.

***

“It's unbelievable.” Belle whispered, still looking out the window. “They both got old.”

“Well, this is a completely natural process.” Stern's voice came to her. “Let’s go, Miss French. Taxi is waiting.” 

“Not for those who own magic.” she muttered absentmindedly.

“I'm sorry, what?” he asked.

“No, nothing.” Belle shook her head. “Let’s go.” 

They went outside, where a car was waiting for them

“Please.” David opened the door of the taxi for Belle.

“But why didn't he do that for me?” She looked confused at Stern, getting into the car.

“I'm afraid I don’t understand what you mean.” He shrugged. “I'll pay for your trip, don't worry.” he added. “All the best, Miss French.”

He stood on the sidewalk for some time, looking at the receding car. And only when it disappeared from sight he went back to the house.


	46. Chapter 46

“Dad, what is the reason for you to dislike him so much?” Charlotte sighed.

“Everything.” Gold shrugged, sitting next to her at the table. “First of all, it’s the fact that he is an intern.”

“Resident.” his daughter corrected.

“Really? And when did he become one? Yesterday?” Gold inquired turning towards her. 

“Last week.” Charlotte smiled softly.

“Great.” Her father nodded, pouring himself some wine. “That changes the matter. So we have to wait for... how long? Five years at least before he gets some kind of work and begins to occasionally sleep at home”.

“The residency is work.” the girl objected. “By the way, I am also a resident.”

“Moreover,” Gold sighed, “how are you going to live together if both of you are constantly on duty? And I don’t even ask with whose money, that’s obvious.” 

“Not obvious at all.” said Charlotte, offended.

“Honey,” he gently grabbed her by the shoulders, “I didn't mean to offend you. Truly. I just want you to think it over again. You like this guy. Okay, I’ve already reconciled with that. But why would you want to marry him? Why to even get married so early on?”

“Dad, I'm twenty-six years old.” She put her head on her father’s shoulder.

“So what?” He kissed her on the temple. “Isn't that early?”

“Someone here got married at twenty-five.” She nodded at her brother sitting across from her. “And you didn't say anything about this, didn’t you?” she specified. 

Gideon nodded agreeable, chewing a steak.

“It's different.” Gold pressed his daughter tighter to himself.

“Why?” Charlotte said surprised.

“Because I'm not Daddy's little princess.” her brother grinned. “But remember how much I heard from our mother? About my dissertation, for example. Really mom?” He leaned towards the Queen and quickly kissed her on the shoulder.

“But you still finished it.” Regina smiled. “And now you have a decent tablet on your cabinet door, with a PhD in front of your name. As for Charlotte, I’m calm: she loves surgery more than Derek.” she added under the reproachful eyes of her daughter. “Gideon is right.” she continued. “Dad in general isn’t used to the idea yet that his girls will get married someday.”

“Don’t you think that she is in a hurry?” Gold raised his eyebrow, letting go of his daughter.

“I think you worry too much.” She pushed her glass towards him and he poured her some wine. “They have a steady relationship already. What will change if they get married? And he won’t always be a resident. Maybe he will become a famous doctor one day and you are going to be so proud of your son-in-law.”

“He's an infectious disease specialist.” her husband grimaced. “How is he going to become a famous doctor? Build a palm leaf clinic in Guatemala and then perform on a talk show?”

“I don’t think there are infections only in Guatemala.” The Queen shrugged.

“Okay, enough about his specialty.” Gold grimaced. “It makes me feel bad every time, the thought of him poking around day and night with various exotic rashes and then touching my daughter with the same hands.”

“Dad!” Charlotte blushed deeply and buried herself in her plate.

“I’m sorry.” He patted her hand lightly. “I won’t do that again.”

“He will be transferred to our clinic next year.” Charlotte, still red, said after a pause. “David will take him to orthopedics with him.”

“Wow.” Gold remarked sarcastically. “He hasn’t even married you yet but is already benefiting from your relationship.”

“Nothing like that!” His daughter was indignant. “I didn't ask Uncle David to take him. I didn’t even know he wanted to transfer to us. He didn’t tell me anything before he entered the competition. And David, by the way, believes he was one of the best.”

“Yes, he probably thinks so.” Gold said thoughtfully. “Okay it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you’re happy with everything.”

“Daddy, everything will be fine.” She covered his palm with hers. “And if you had observed Derek closer, you would have seen he isn’t as bad as you think.”

“Everything is possible.” he agreed. “Shall I pour you some more wine?” he suggested.

“No.” Charlotte shook her head. “I still need to finish writing an article for “Lancet” today”.

“Instead of whom this time?” Gold asked.

“You won’t believe it.” she grinned. “Instead of Uncle David.”

“What prevents David from writing it himself?” Gideon asked.

“He has no time.” His sister shrugged. “He has residents for this.”

“Is it time to give you a MD?” Gold asked ironically. “Instead of which professor in line are you writing the scientific article?”

“The third.” she answered, thinking. “And I’m still hoping next month I will write instead of Professor Eggerton, there will be a very interesting topic.”

“And what do you get for these articles?” Gideon asked. “What is the practical interest?”

“A guaranteed place in the operating room on the most difficult cases.” Charlotte smiled prettily.

“Now you see why I don’t worry about her studies?” The Queen grinned, patting her son on the shoulder.

The door slammed in the hallway.

“Oh, and here is Rachel.” Regina rejoiced. “How long is it since you haven’t seen each other?”

“Mom, we see each other on Skype every day.” Gideon stroked her back.

“It’s not the same.” The Queen waved her hand.

“Mom, dad, are you back yet?” The younger daughter peered into the dining room. “Wow! What are you doing here?” She stared in surprise at her brother.

“I accompanied our parents home.” He smiled.

“From Washington to New York?” Rachel was even more surprised, sitting down at the table between Gold and the Queen.

“Why not?” Gideon shrugged.

“He just wanted to make sure we had actually left and he and Judy could cuddle Josh again by themselves, without trying to persuade dad and I for hours to give them back their child.” Regina laughed.

“Then I understand him.” She took turns kissing her parents. “For all this week I have never seen any of them with their son in their arms. No matter what time I called, the child always belonged to its grandparents. But for real, why are you here?” She turned to her brother.

“For real, he contracted as a driver for us.” her mom answered her just as merrily. “Apparently, the salary of government officials isn’t so high.”

“For real, mother continues to tease me.” He looked at the Queen with an innocent reproach. “Just like she and dad continue to ignore the excellent transportation connections between our cities and drive to us by car.”

“Instead of taking a comfortable bus.” Regina interjected.

“What does the bus have to do with it?” Gideon sighed. “There are planes, there are high-speed trains. What is the need to spend five hours behind the wheel? We have already discussed all this. Well, I tried to discuss along the way while you were malicious and making fun of me.” 

“Well, I'm sorry, I won’t do it anymore.” The Queen stroked his shoulder. “But you know, it’s very difficult to take you seriously when you once again start telling me how difficult and risky it is to drive three hundred kilometers on our own Bentley. And how easy and pleasant it is to spend half a day on a trip to the airport or the train station”

“You spend five hours driving.” her son said.

“So what?” Regina shrugged. “Really, dear, your dad and I don’t have so much strength anymore to spend on your beloved excellent transportation connections. First, go through traffic jams to the airport and then there is check-in for the flight, waiting, handing over the baggage, getting the baggage back, again being stuck in traffic jam in Washington. Additionally, these are just some local airlines that don’t have a first class. This doesn’t suit us.” 

“So you're really here as a driver?” Rachel grinned, cutting herself a piece of lasagna.

“In that capacity too.” Gideon nodded. “Plus, I have a few meetings here in New York tomorrow. Which doesn’t cancel my opinion.” He squinted at his mother. “Until today, I somehow didn’t think about your trips to Washington. But now we have to change something. I don’t like the fact that you’re spending half a day driving. If you really like to travel by car and you won’t exchange it for anything, hire a driver next time.”

“Not a chance.” The Queen grimaced. “You know I don't like strangers.”

“Dad?” He looked hopefully at Gold.

“I don’t understand in general why you’re wasting your mother’s and your own time.” He shrugged. “It’s obvious you won’t out argue her nor convince her. So in your place, I would focus on tomorrow's affairs and not occupy my head with meaningless things”.

“And what kind of business affairs do you have here?” Rachel got interested.

“I don't want to say yet.” Gideon shook his head.

“State secret?” His sister asked in a theatrical whisper.

“Something like that.” He smiled.

“Okay, I still have to finish my term paper.” Rachel sighed. “Will you come back for dinner tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Gideon assured her.

“Then I’ll see you again! Mommy, lasagna, as always, is simply wonderful.” She quickly kissed the Queen on the cheek and, grabbing her plate, headed toward the kitchen.

“Do you need help with your coursework?” Gold called to her.

“Nope.” Rachel turned. “But it will be good if you look at it later, if you are not very tired. I think I'll finish in a couple of hours.”

“I'll take a look.” He nodded.

“It’s time for me to start the article too.” Charlotte glanced at her watch. “So I’ll go as well.” 

“You can write here.” the Queen remarked. “Perhaps you’ll stay?”

“No.” Charlotte shook her head. “I have printed all the material that I need at home. And tomorrow I’m on duty, I need to change clothes. But on the days off I'm all yours.”

“And when are the days off?” Gold inquired.

“Good question.” she thought. “On Thursday and like, on Saturday. But on Thursday for sure.”

“Okay, that means until Thursday.” He stroked her back. “I’ll call you a taxi.”

“There’s no use.” Charlotte objected. “I'd rather take a walk, it's not far away.”

She kissed her father on the temple, then walked around the table and kissed her mother as well.

“Ok, then I'll accompany you.” Gold stood after her. “It's already dark on the streets but you’ll go through the park, won’t you?”

“Daddy, this is Manhattan.” Charlotte smiled. “Besides, it’s only eight in the evening. Rest, nothing will happen to me.”

“Can I accompany you?” Gideon raised his hand. “Well, unless of course Derek is waiting for you out at our porch, not daring to knock.” He grinned.

“Let's go.” His sister laughed.

***

“Well, since when did a second glass of wine prevent you from writing any scientific work?”

Gideon and Charlotte walked leisurely through the park.

“You notice everything.” Charlotte squinted at her brother with a slight grin.

“That’s my job.” He smiled back. “Besides, such a rush with the wedding. You kind of planned to get married when Derek finished his residency, weren’t you?”

“It was like that.” Charlotte agreed. “But as you can see, we had to make some adjustments.”

“And were these adjustments unplanned?” Gideon asked.

“They were.” she answered. “But with my work schedule, it’s not surprising I forgot to take the pill and then didn’t immediately notice that every day I drank the pill for the previous day.”

“Our parents don’t know?” He asked.

“Mom knows.” Charlotte nodded. “But we won’t tell Papa yet.”

“And when are you going to tell him?” Gideon was surprised.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Sometime after the wedding.”

“You do understand that you don’t have to get married just because you are pregnant, right?” He took her by the shoulders.

“See?” She laughed. “That's exactly why I'm not telling dad yet. Calm down, we’ll just get married a little earlier than planned. It's all.”

“You know, the fact that papa didn’t notice today doesn’t mean he won’t along the way.” Gideon squinted at her. “Maybe his observation skills are not the same but with mathematics he is doing pretty well. So when the baby is born, everything will become obvious. I think it’s better to tell him now”. 

“It's not a fact he will even start to calculate anything.” Charlotte objected. “When his grandchild is born, dad most likely won’t be up to mathematics. So we won’t complicate everything yet. Let him somehow gradually get used to these ideas. That I'm getting married. That I’m going to have a child. Not all at once. And the math here is pretty arbitrary. Mom and dad know this well. Rachel, for example, was born on the thirty-fourth week, here’s some math for you.”

“What do you mean?” He was confused. “Our Rachel? I didn’t know.”

“And I didn't know either.” Charlotte nodded. “Mom told me, because in theory I can have the same problems as hers. There are certain points that will need to be closely monitored.” 

“Okay, you know, I guess I don’t want to know such details.” Gideon stopped her. “Tell me better what you’re going to do with your schedule in the future. Derek and you alike.”

“Nothing.” Charlotte shrugged. “We have day nursery in the children's department, so the kid will always be with us.”

“Seriously?” Her brother raised an eyebrow.“You’re going to raise it in the hospital?”

“So what?” She was surprised. “This is way better than any kindergarten. In any other place, you can’t be sure that in any case your child will be immediately provided with qualified help, just as you can’t stop by to see it at any time when you have free time.”

“You know, you should get your baby to our mom more often and not at the day care.” Gideon said after thinking. “This won’t be as close and convenient as your child care wing but the kid will be seeing something other than stethoscopes and mother will have something to do.”

“Mom already has something to do.” Charlotte smiled. “She's busy with dad.”

“Yes.” her brother agreed. “And it's almost her only occupation since I remember her. One more thing to do won’t hurt her. And certainly they’ll both benefit from communication with their grandchildren. They miss the kids in the house.”

“Okay, we’ll see.” his sister dismissed him. “Why do we even discuss only me? Tell me better, what kind of affairs can the Washington District Attorney have in New York?”

“Maybe I don’t want to be the Washington District Attorney anymore.” her brother answered her after a pause. “I'm thinking of coming back here.”

“Wow!” Charlotte admired. “This is an even bolder confession than mine. Our parents, of course, don’t know?”

“Our parents, of course, don’t know.” Gideon confirmed. “First I need to know what will happen with work. Tomorrow I will meet with someone who can help me get settled here”.

“Mom and Dad will be horrified.” His sister sighed. “What happened anyway? Why don’t you like Washington so much? Are you having any serious problems at work?”

“Everything is fine at work and I like absolutely everything about Washington, except the fact that between me and my parents are three hundred and sixty kilometers. And this week I realized that this minus outweighs all the pros. I need to be near them.”

“Are you crazy?” Charlotte was amazed. “Do you understand that here you have to start all over again? In a couple of years, you can run for governor there. And you want to tell me that you’re giving up your career for the sake of your parents? You know, I think this is one of the worst things you can do for them.”

“I'm not doing anything yet.” Gideon said conciliatorily. “So far I'm only trying to assess my prospects. After I am aware of what I can count on here, I will discuss this with our parents. And if they are as opposed as you think, then I will abandon this venture. Okay?”

“And you, I see, have doubts they will be so against it?” She grinned.

“I have.” Gideon nodded. “I, unlike you, see them not a couple of times a week but a couple of times a year. Therefore, I see how they change.”

“It’s not you alone who sees that.” Charlotte gave her brother a thoughtful look. “Look, just don’t tell them about it. Come up with some other reason to move.”

“It's nice that you have such a high opinion of my mental abilities.” He grinned with irony.

“Come on, don't be offended.” She nudged him slightly with her elbow on the side. “I am a surgeon; everything should be under my control. Listen, what about Judy? Does she agree to moving?”

“I think so.” Gideon shrugged.

“So you think so or yes?” his sister inquired.

“We'll see.” He sighed. “As you’ve probably already noticed, the idea of returning was quite spontaneous. So we’ll do everything gradually, as you say. First, I’ll find out what my prospects are, whether our move is possible in general or just in theory. And then I will discuss this with everyone.”

They reached Charlotte’s house.

“Would you like to come in?” She turned to her brother, taking out the keys.

“I do.” He nodded.

***

“Are you going to sleep?”

Entering her husband’s office, the Queen bent over an armchair. Hugging Gold by the shoulders, she kissed him lightly on the temple.

“I'm going.” he answered, not looking up from the papers.

“I mean today.” Regina smiled.

“I'm going today.” He reached for her kiss. “But a lot of things have accumulated over the week.” 

“Truly?” She slid her hands over his shoulders, massaging them a little. “And are all so urgent that you have to sit over them at midnight? Plus, in front of you lies the same report that lay when I went in an hour ago and it’s still open on the same page.”

“Perhaps I was a little distracted.” He covered her palm with his, stroking it a little. “Go to bed, I'll be there soon.”

“And perhaps it’s not a matter of work at all.” She went around the chair and squatted down, looking at her husband from the bottom up. “Will you talk to me?”

He gently pulled her elbow up and had her seated on his lap.

“It's not just that you don't like Derek, is it?” She slowly ran the back of her fingers across his cheek.

“No.” He pressed her on him and buried his forehead on her shoulder. “Everything ends too fast. Just yesterday all three were still small and today everything has already changed; everyone has their own life, their own families. I miss them. And every day they get further away. You're right; I'm not ready for this.” He raised his head and looked at his wife. “Which doesn’t negate the fact that I don’t like this guy. Seriously, Regina, what kind of a husband will he be? He is twenty-five years old and he still doesn’t even know what he wants to become when he grows up. He has just entered his residency and decided to change his specialty, thus losing a whole year.”

“I think he is doing this just to become a good husband in the end.” Regina put her arm around his neck. “So he transferred to a more promising specialty and is even ready to lose this year that he’ll have to spend in his previous residency. Well, that's if you look at him without prejudice. But nobody will be good enough for you. Even if you now think for certain that if he were more successful, it would be easier for you to come to terms with the idea that Charlotte is no longer our little girl. But no. Because you are not ready. You haven’t come to terms with the fact that Gideon has left for Washington yet and now Charlotte. Even though she’s not leaving, she’s just getting married.”

“I hope Gideon comes back anyway. He didn’t come here now in vain.” Gold said thoughtfully. “When he graduated from college, he wanted to prove that he was worth something without me. But now he has already proved everything to everyone: that he can make a career without any help, in another city, in another area where I have no connections. It’s time to come home.”

“Are you serious?” The Queen was amazed. “If he abandons everything now, then all his previous achievements will be wasted. In Washington, he may have a brilliant political career that he will no longer have here.”

“And what's good about that?” Gold asked calmly. “He won’t be seeing either his wife nor his children, he will always be under the gun of opponents and ill-wishers. All this for what? If he were a boy from a simple family, like Trenton for example, he would have no choice. But Gideon, having proved his self-sufficiency, may as well return to the family business and live in peace. And I will be calmer with the thought that he will be next to you and the girls when I won’t be.”

“What?” Regina was confused.

“We need to think about this too.” He ran a hand along her cheek, picked up a strand that had fallen off her hairdo and tucked it behind her ear.

“No, I'm sorry. I don’t want to think about it, nor talk, nor listen.” She wanted to get up but Gold held her back.

“Well okay, we won’t.” He buried his nose in her neck, clutching his wife tighter.

For a while, both were silent.

“In any case, it will be good if he returns.” Gold finally broke the silence. “I don’t know about you, but I want to see my son and grandson every week, not every six months. And that’s how often we will get to see each other during his brilliant political career.”

“I want that too.” The Queen laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. “It remains to find out what he wants.” she added, holding back a yawn.

“Well, I hope we’ll find out soon.” He stroked her hair. “Let’s go to bed. It’s definitely time for you to sleep.”

“And you won’t run away from me when I fall asleep?” She reached out to kiss him. “Back to your gloomy thoughts?”

“No.” Gold assured his wife. “I'll be with you.” 


	47. Chapter 47

“Are you ready?” The Queen looked into the bathroom, where Gold, standing in front of the mirror, fastened a pin on his tie. “Rachel just called. They are already waiting for us, with her ... what’s-his-name-there.”

“Aaron is a good guy.” Gold smiled, looking at her reflection. “I like him. And I think that you shouldn’t attack him all the time.”

“Really? And what do you like about him so much?” Regina raised an eyebrow.

“He is smart, from a good family and he has a good grip.” He straightened the knot on his tie.

“Yes, I’ve already noticed that.” The Queen sighed, “When he grabbed hold of Rachel tightly, knowing well that she’s your daughter.”

“So what? He chose a girl like himself, in contrast to this... what’- his-name-there.” He mimicked his wife.

“Oh, just don’t start!” Regina grimaced. “He loves Charlotte and he's a really nice guy.”

“Penniless.” Gold grinned.

“Well, here we go again.” The Queen sighed. “At the end of the residency, he will have a completely different salary. And David talks about how talented he is all the time and how will surely make a brilliant career.”

“Okay, I don’t want to debate with you.” her husband dismissed her.

The telephone rang again in the bedroom.

“Now your enterprising favorite is calling to inform you that they replaced us to your favorite table, he made sure of that.” Regina said with a laugh, peering into the bathroom again. “Rumple?” The fun immediately flew off her.

Gold stood with his eyes closed, leaning on the sink and head down.

“What’s the matter with you?” She suddenly appeared near him.

“I don't know.” He raised his hand with difficulty, to loosen the knot on his tie.

“Come on.” Regina put his hand on her shoulder and, hugging him, led him into the bedroom. “Lie down… Carefully... I'll call David.”

“No, Regina, call 911.” Gold breathed out, rubbing his chest. “And give me a blanket.” He cringed. “It’s very cold.”

After hastily covering him with a blanket, the Queen with difficulty, with trembling hands, dialed the desired number.

***

“David! Please tell me everything will be alright!” The Queen hung on Stern's neck as soon as he came out of the intensive care unit.

“Regina.” He hugged her by the shoulders. “We are doing everything we can but it's all useless.”

“What?” Regina recoiled from him. “What are you saying?”

“A second heart attack, at his age is almost always incurable.” Stern continued. “He doesn’t respond to therapy. We can’t even stabilize him. His heart is too worn out.”

“So he needs a new one!” She grabbed his hand. “After all, you can do it. You transplant hearts.”

“No, Regina.” He took her by the shoulders again. “Even if I could find him a heart, he would die on the operating table.”

“This is some kind of nonsense.” the Queen muttered. “David, you’ve always helped us and now, I'm sure you can do something. I cannot lose him! Do you understand? Do something. Help him!”

“Only you can help him now.” David slowly stroked her shoulders. “Go to him. Stay with him. That's all he needs now. To spend the last hours with you. Trust me.” 

“You’ve lost your damn mind!” The Queen pushed him away from her. “That's impossible! It shouldn’t be like that!”

“Everything has a deadline.” Stern said quietly. “Our bodies break, just like everything else. They let us down. And we can’t do anything about it.”

“Well, maybe you can't.” She turned sharply and walked away.

***

“Well, how are you here?” Bouncing into the ward, the Queen sat at her husband’s bed and impulsively took his hand.

“Excellent.” He pulled her palm to himself and kissed it. “Opiates are a great thing.”

“I'm taking you out of here!” Regina said decisively. “We are returning to Storybrooke.”

“No.” Gold shook his head. “I don't want to go to Storybrooke.”

“I don't care what you want!” the Queen snapped.

“Not true.” Her husband smiled softly at her. “You do care. And always did”. 

“Listen,” Regina began fervently, “I was talking to David right now and he’s sure that you have no chance here. You will die here! You need magic!” 

“No.” He held out his hand and touched her cheek. “I need you.”

“Do you even listen to me?” She jumped to her feet. “We need to return to the world of magic! This is the only chance to save you!” 

“I’ve already told you this and I will say it again.” He held out his hand and she sat down next to him once more, kissing his palm. “I’ve lived three hundred unhappy years without you and thirty incredibly happy with you. I can no longer live without you. And this is what will happen if we return to any of the magical realms. Immortality is the worst damnation. I’ve lived for centuries and for the centuries I was alone, I got used to it. But now that I have been so happy with you for so long, I cannot return to my former life. I don’t want to outlive neither you nor our children.” 

“Rumple…” The Queen stroked his cheek. “But what will I do without you? I can’t lose you.”

“Just like I can’t lose you.” Gold caught her hand and kissed it. “And if I become immortal again, I will lose you forever. All of you. And I will lose for centuries, generation after generation, children, grandchildren, everyone that I have ever loved.” 

“I can't let you go.” She leaned towards him, her forehead buried in his shoulder. “I don't want to... Please, let's go back to Storybrooke, to the Enchanted Forest - wherever you like.”

“Regina…” He gently stroked her hair. “I don’t want to leave you but I cannot return to my former life. I’m sorry, baby. I wanted to live a life with you and I’ve lived it.”

“No, Rumple.” The Queen spoke through her tears.

“I'm tired, Regina.” Her husband ran a hand over her cheek, wiping her tears. “Lie down with me a little. I want to fall asleep next to you.” 

She lay down beside him and embracing her, he laid his head on her shoulder.

“That's so good.” Gold smiled with his eyes closed.

“I love you.” Regina whispered, kissing him on his temple. “I will always love you. Only you.” 

“I love you too.” he said with difficulty.

“Good night.” She pressed him close to her, without hearing an answer.


	48. Chapter 48

Gideon walked slowly along the corridors of the clinic, slowing down more and more as he was approaching the desired one. Having reached the next fork, he stopped and, lowering his head, took a few deep breaths.  
  
“Okay.” After standing like that for a while, he shook himself, squaring his shoulders and finally took a step for the turn, almost colliding with his sisters.

Charlotte, wearing blue surgical scrubs, was stroking the back of the tear-stained Rachel, who was washing her face right there in the drinking fountain. Gideon was silent for a while.

“Hi.” he finally gasped.

“Gideon.” Rachel turned to him and hung on his neck, starting to cry again.

“Shsh…” He tightly pressed his sister to him, shaking her slightly. “Hush, baby girl.”

“I thought you were in Seattle.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

“I was there.” Gideon confirmed. “Until David called me.”

“How could this happen?” Rachel asked through tears. “Everything was fine in the evening. I talked with dad; everything was in perfect order with him. How could this happen? I can’t believe it, I don’t want to.” 

“I know, dear.” He softly kissed her temple and turned to his second sister. “How are you?” He carefully laid a hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

“I don’t know.” she answered quietly. “I haven’t understood yet. I had just finished the operation. Then David told me. And now I need to prepare for operating on a very temperamental and complicated child. No time to comprehend it.”

“David will replace you.” Gideon said, not very confidently.

“No.” Charlotte shook her head. “He can’t. The boy trusts no one else but me.”

“You still won’t be able to operate.” He looked at her sister, bewildered.

“Rauer will operate.” She closed her eyes and turned her head, flexing her neck. “The problem is that if I am not around, nothing will work. We have all gone through this. I need to sit with him before we start, talk, calm him down and then I need to be around and explain to him what we are doing while he is being anesthetized and getting withdrawn”.

“Well, you can hold off on that for right now.” Gideon said doubtfully.

“No.” Charlotte objected. “He can't wait for me to be in order. It's good that you came.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to go and mom is still there…” she nodded vaguely, “With dad. It’s necessary to somehow take her away from there. Several hours have passed, the body needs to be…” she stammered and closing her eyes tight, leaned against her brother, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

He held her tightly against him, kissing the top of her head.

“It would probably be better to keep her in the clinic.” she continued. “Or go home with her and take one of our therapists with you. I don’t know. She doesn't even cry. She’s just sitting there. David should come over any minute now. Decide with him. He was called for a consultation but he had been here all this time with our mother, so he knows the situation better.”

“I get it.” He squeezed her shoulders for a few moments. “Go on. Call me when you're done.” 

Nodding silently, she gently freed herself from his hands and walked away quickly, wiping her eyes and straightening her hair along the way.

“Have you been here a long time?” Gideon turned back to Rachel.

“I don’t know...” she answered uncertainly. “We couldn’t get through to mom for a long time. When she finally answered, she only said that dad was in the clinic and that she would call later, there was no time to talk now. And we still waited some time for her to call back…” She fell silent, interlacing and massaging her fingers. “We didn’t come right away.” she said again. “We didn’t come right away.” she repeated.

“Don't think about it.” He stroked his sister's shoulder. “Is Aaron here?” He asked.

“No.” Rachel shook her head. “He left. He had things to do”.

“Oh, really?” Gideon grinned slightly, pulling out the phone. “Judy? I need you to come to David’s clinic... It happened... No, everything is fine with me. I need you to take Rachel... Honey, not over the phone. Are the children still sleeping?... Great. Then get in the car and come right away. We’ll be waiting for you downstairs in the hall.” He turned off and hugged his sister. “Judy will pick you up and take you to our place, okay?”

After escorting his sister to the hall and waiting with her for his wife to arrive, he returned to the intensive care unit and, after a little pause at the door, entered the ward.

The Queen was sitting on the edge of the bed completely motionless, not paying any attention to the person entering. Her pale frozen face practically didn’t differ from the face of her husband, on which her gaze had stopped. She looked at him inseparably and, it seemed, without even blinking. For a while, Gideon was frozen in place, looking at his father. His calm, unexpectedly smooth face, as if ten years younger. For a second he thought he was smiling. And that surprised him the most. It was impossible, the muscles can’t freeze in tension but it was just so. His father smiled faintly and looked completely happy. He shook his head, went to the bed and quietly called out:

“Mother?”

Regina didn’t move, still not noticing him.

“Mom, how are you?” He lightly touched her shoulder, leaning towards her.

“No how.” the Queen answered colorlessly, still not moving from her place and not looking away.

“Come with me.” Gideon crouched next to his mother, hugging her by the shoulders. “You stayed here all night, you need to sleep.” He carefully leaned her against him, stroking her hands a little.

“I don’t want to.” she answered calmly without turning back.

“Come on,” Gideon spoke quietly, continuing to stroke her. “Your face is white as a sheet, you are so pale.”

“It’s okay.” she answered shortly.

For a while they sat in silence.

“I should be the one supporting the three of you now.” the Queen finally said, still looking at her husband. “You are my children.”

“No, mom.” He hugged her tightly and buried his nose in her hair. “Don’t do anything.”

Both were silent for a long time.

“Where's Rachel?” Regina finally spoke.

“Judy will take her to our house.” her son answered.

“Good.” the Queen nodded slightly.

“Charlotte is here.” Gideon began.

“I know.” his mother stopped him. “It’s probably even better. Let her be distracted.”

Her voice, empty and cold, sounded unusual and Gideon could hardly recognize it. He pulled away a little from his mother, looking at her as if to make sure it was indeed her.

Dr. Stern entered the room.

“Gideon.” Going up to them, he laid a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Hello, David.” he answered, covering his palm with his own.

“You know, I probably don’t know what to say for the first time in my life.” the doctor said after a pause.

“What can be said here?” Gideon turned to his conversationalist. “We’re feeling the same regardless.” 

Stern nodded silently.

“Regina.” he spoke again after a while. “It's time.”

“I know.” the Queen replied, barely audibly. “Just a couple more minutes and I'll leave. Don’t worry.” 

“You need to sleep.” David continued. “Let’s go, I'll put you to bed and give you a sleeping medicine injection.”

“No, I don't want to.” Regina shook her head slightly.

She leaned toward her husband, ran her fingers across his cheek and slowly kissed his temple. Then she took his hand.

“Everything will be fine.” the Queen whispered, clutching his cold palm. “Everything will be fine.” she repeated, kissing him again.

Getting upright, she straightened his blanket and turned to her son:

“Will you take me home?” 

“Of course, Mom.” Gideon nodded.

“Regina, I think it’s best you stay here.” the doctor looked at her with concern. “Not for long, just in case.”

“David, I don't want to.” Regina sighed wearily. “I want to go home.” she stood, leaning on her son’s hand, and headed for the exit.

“Give us a couple of sleeping medicine ampoules and whatever else we may need.” Gideon whispered to Stern.

“Can you inject it by yourself?” Stern quietly asked.

“I can.” the man confirmed. “Don’t worry; everything will be fine with us”. 

***

Entering the house, the Queen put her shoes neatly on a shelf in the hallway, in a row with several pairs of her husband’s shoes. She fixed everything so the shoes were perfectly even. Then she went into the living room, looking around thoughtfully. On the table near the sofa there was a book and next to it there were glasses. Regina turned the pages. Having found a bookmark, she read a few phrases and returned the book to its place.

“Judy and Rachel are probably waiting for you.” She turned to Gideon, who wasn’t standing far from her. “And the children.”

“I’ll stay here a little longer if you don’t mind.” he said. “Do you want anything? You haven’t eaten or drank a thing since yesterday.” 

The Queen shook her head. Going to the mantelpiece, she splashed herself some whiskey and gulped down the glass.

“I need to be alone for some time.” she said softly. “I would like to be your mother and be with you now but I can’t, I'm sorry. I have no strength for this.”

“It isn’t necessary.” He went to his mother and put an arm around her shoulders. “But I’ll be very worried if you stay here alone. I'll just sit quietly in the corner, okay?”

“You know, I’m probably going to lay down.” She gently freed herself from his hands and headed for the stairs.

“Good.” He nodded after her. “I'm here if you need anything.”

“Good.” the Queen echoed.

Entering the bedroom, she leaned back against the door and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. After standing like that for a while, she went to the closet. Opening it, she scooped up an armful of jackets and shirts. She buried her face in them. She buried her nose. Swaying from side to side with them hanging on the hangers. She took off the first jacket from its hunger, put it on and buried her nose in the sleeve, hugging herself. And then she finally burst into tears, crawling to the floor of the closet door, pulling a few more jackets and shirts after her. Lying on the floor, she cried soundlessly. Panting with tears, scratching the fabric of the shirt she was clutching in her hands, digging her nails into it, biting it with all her might so as not to scream. As to not let Gideon hear her scream.

After the tears were over, she laid on the floor for quite some time, unable to move. Counting her inhales and exhales, looking at the carved leg of the bed. Eventually she managed to get up. Throwing off her jacket, she pulled off the dress that had been on her since the evening, blew her nose into it and threw it into the corner crumpled. Then she wrapped herself in her husband’s robe that was lying on the armchair and sat on the edge of the bed, on his side. She stroked his pillow with her palm and then she grabbed it and pressed it on herself, eagerly drawing in his smell. She lay curled up around his pillow, wrapped in his robe. And so, enveloped on all sides by his smell, fell into sleep. 

When she woke up, she didn’t immediately remember what had happened, at first reaching for her husband and wondering why she was lying on his side of the bed. Awareness came quickly and suddenly, causing her to curl into a ball again with a groan as the whole picture restructured in her memory.

“Okay.” She sat up, shook her head and went to the bathroom.

After washing her face, she changed into her clothes and went downstairs, finding Charlotte in the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a laptop.

“How are you?” Her daughter asked anxiously, looking at her mother over the screen.

“As if they’ve scraped me all over with a curette, everywhere.” she answered uncertainly. “Where is Gideon?” 

“He needed to stop by at work.” Charlotte stood up, poured coffee into a cup and set it on the opposite side of the table. “Will you?”

“I will.” the Queen sat down at the table. “How was the operation?” She asked after a pause. “All is well?”

“Just fine.” The daughter nodded.

“And how are you?” Regina asked.

“Fine.” Charlotte repeated. “Listen Mom, can Derek, Lizzy and I live here with you for a little while?” She asked after a pause.

“This is your home.” the Queen shrugged. “If you want to live here, you don’t need to ask.”

“The important thing is what you want.” she carefully looked at her mother. “Gideon and I, both of us, would like to come back here for a while. If you are ready to accept us all. Together with our husbands and wives and children.”

“Honey, this is your home.” Regina repeated. “There is enough space for everyone here. And I’ll be glad to see you.” she said without any certainty.

“Good.” The girl smiled.

“We need to call the Trentons.” the Queen said after drinking a few sips of coffee. “And arrange everything. The funeral, the wake, the funeral luncheon, whatever else is usually there. And we need to know how many people will come to the wake…”

“Don't worry.” Charlotte interrupted. “We will do everything. Gideon will call Isaac today, he’ll arrange everything. In the evening, Aunt Regina will fly to the city, she will also help if necessary. I’m already working on a list of those who want to come and say goodbye. You don’t have to think about it.”

“Really? And what do you suggest I’d think about?” Her mother scoffed sarcastically. “Okay, I’m sorry.” she added, looking at her daughter's face. “Don’t pay attention to me, I didn’t mean that.”

“I know, Mom.” her daughter assured her.

***

“Denise? It’s Charlotte again.” Holding the phone with her shoulder, the girl was taking notes in a notebook. “Yes, we have plus seven... See for yourself, I don’t remember what kind of tables you have... Yes, probably... Well, decide yourself somehow.”

“How are you?” Gideon asked, having just appeared in the kitchen of his parents' house.

“My head is spinning.” his sister dismissed him, delving deeper into the lists again. “And we still need to figure out how to seat them all. There aren’t that many people who can sit next to each other. What do you have? Is everything agreed upon with Isaac?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “The wake will be at the town hall and we have a place for a family vault at the alley of the pond in Green Wood.”

“A whole vault?” Charlotte said surprised.

“Well, Isaac’s father owed a lot to dad.” Gideon shrugged. “Just like Isaac himself too. So the new mayor Trenton did his best.”

“Yeah.” the girl grinned ironically “It's nice we all have a place to lie under. However, we don’t have time to build a vault now.” 

“Well, yes.” her brother agreed. “For now we’ll have to do without it. We’ll finish it afterwards. Have you agreed with mom that we’ll all move to her place for a while?”

“It seems so.” Charlotte nodded. “Although I cannot say this idea delighted her.”

“No wonder.” He poured himself coffee and sat down at the table opposite his sister. “Mom used to take care of us, not vice versa. Where is she, by the way?” 

“She left.” She shrugged.

“What you mean, left?” Gideon tensed. “Where to?”

“To buy herself a dress.” Charlotte also took a cup of coffee. “She said she didn’t have a single suitable black dress and that she had nothing to wear to accompany dad on his last journey. So she got dressed, gathered her things and left.” 

“It was necessary to go with her.” the man said worriedly.

“It was necessary,” his conversationalist agreed, “but she flatly refused. She said she needed to take a walk. Alone”. 

“And you let her go?” Gideon asked.

“Did I have to tie her up?” She was surprised. “Listen, mom is completely adequate. And the fact that she needs to be alone is completely normal.”

“I hope so.” He sighed.

A key clicked in the lock and the Queen appeared on the threshold.

“See?” Charlotte smiled.

“Thank God.” her brother breathed out. “Mom, hi!” He went into the hallway. “Is everything okay? Did you find what you were looking for?” 

“I don't know.” She put the packages on the floor. “They're all kind of “not that”. Imperfect. But these are all the options. So I have to choose from them.” 

Her phone rang.

“Louise.” The Queen answered the phone. “I'm sorry, I completely forgot about you. Five minutes and I will be there” 

“You’ll be where?” Gideon asked when she disconnected and put the phone away.

“At the manicurist.” She looked around at her nails. “Everything needs to be redone.”

“Right now?” her son was surprised.

“Yes.” Regina nodded. “Tomorrow your father and I will see each other for the last time. I can’t go like that.” 

Putting on her shoes again, she slipped out the door, leaving Gideon perplexed. 

“Fully adequate, you say?” He turned to his sister.

“So what?” She shrugged. “This is her way of dealing with grief. She wants to be beautiful at the funeral. So that everyone can see what a woman dad’s wife is. So dad could be proud of her. What's so strange about that?”

“So you can see the logic here?” Gideon asked.

“Of course.” his sister assured him.

“Okay.” He sat down at the table opposite her again. “Let’s go back to the organizational matters.”

***

“Let's cancel everything.” The Queen, wrapped in tight black silk, walked around the living room nervously.

“What do you mean by “everything”?” Gideon specified.

“The wake, the funeral luncheon and all this stuff.” she grimaced. “I don't want to sit there and listen to what kind of person your father was. And then these stupid funny stories from friends which are usually said at the funeral to somehow cheer everyone up. All of these endless: “how are you” and “hold on”. I'm getting sick just by thinking about this all.”

“Mom, you know this is impossible.” Her son hugged her. “It will be incredibly impolite. Father was dear to all these people, they all want to say goodbye to him. Many will fly from other cities, some even from another continent, for just one day.”

“I don’t care.” She buried her forehead on his shoulder. “I just want to spend some more time with him, stay with him for a little longer. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t want to listen to anyone.” 

“You will have time to be alone with him.” He ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her hairpin. “I promise you. But his friends also want to say goodbye to him.”

“Friends. If only.” the Queen grinned. “Imagine how many people will come in order to meet someone that’s very necessary to them. Using your father’s name for the last time.”

“And they too will remember him with gratitude after.” He squeezed her shoulders, clutching her on him. “Come on.” 

Near the town hall, Charlotte, Derek, Rachel and Judy were waiting for them along with a huge crowd of people, half of whom the Queen had never seen before. Every now and then someone said something to her but she couldn’t hear. Her ears rang so much that she wanted to close them shut with her hands. Even through this rumble, the beat of her heart was breaking through. Which, it seemed, was now everywhere and pounded not only in her chest, but also in her temples, in her throat, even in her fingers. She was hot, despite the fact that the day was cloudy and she was only wearing a thin silk dress. Keeping her balance with difficulty, she entered the spacious area of the town hall, reached an elevation at the far end, on which stood a polished mahogany coffin and leaned towards it.

“Hi.” she said with her lips. “I’ve missed you so much.”

And the world began to disappear. She felt someone's hands grabbing her, someone sitting her on a chair and then again someone saying something to her. But she couldn’t make out the words. Everything was spinning: a series of faces, voices, touches. An endless stream of people floating between her and Gold. Charlotte's hands, which now and then squeezed her. Gideon.

“I’m fine,” she said automatically, seeing the question on his face, but not hearing it.

“Mom, it's time to go.” She finally managed to hear his words.

“Yes, of course.” She nodded, getting up.

Green Wood was filled with greenery and birds and the sun's rays gradually began to break through the clouds, falling on the foliage. People were already silent. The funeral workers checked once again the tape and mechanism. Regina, bending over to her husband, whispered something in his ear for a long time. Finally, she straightened up, stepped back a few steps and buried herself in her son’s chest who pressed her to him, nodding to the workers. She tried to turn around when the mechanism turned on but her son held her tightly, slowly stepping back with her.

***

“Mom?” A girl of about three looked into the kitchen. “Walk with me?”

“Lizzy, a little later.” Charlotte smiled. “I need to finish the article now.” 

“Okay.” the girl sighed. “And when will dad come?” 

“Dad will come tomorrow morning.” her mother answered, delving deeper into the screen. “He's on duty today.”

“I see.” 

A key clicked in the lock and the girl hurried to the hallway, where she ran into her uncle.

“Lizzy!” Gideon smiled. “I haven’t seen you for almost three weeks. How are you?”

“Fine.” the baby shrugged.

“Hold this.” He took out a translucent organza bag from his briefcase and handed it to his niece. “This is a bracelet, the one you wanted.” 

“Thank you.” The girl hid the bag in her skirt pocket and reached out to kiss her uncle.

“Won't you take a look?” Gideon was surprised.

“I will, later.” the little girl answered without enthusiasm.

“You're not in the mood?” he asked her.

“I'm waiting for mom to finish working so we can take a walk.” she sighed. “She's been promising me all day.”

“I see.” The man smiled. “Okay, wait a little bit and you and I will go to the park.”

“Of course.” His niece nodded.

“What's new in San Diego?” Looking up from her laptop, Charlotte glanced at her brother who entered the kitchen of their parental house. 

“Everything’s okay.” He leaned over to Judy who was sitting next to Charlotte and kissed her. “The licenses for gold mining have been extended. What news do we have here?”

“Well, there's something.” His sister smiled. “She still refuses to leave the house and practically doesn’t talk. But yesterday she was able to eat a whole bowl of soup.”

“Are these all our achievements?” Gideon asked.

“Is that not enough of an achievement?” She was surprised. “A whole bowl!” She emphasized. “Not just three spoons and then being all: "I can’t, I feel like throwing up". For the first time in three months.” 

“Perhaps it’s quite an achievement.” her brother agreed, sitting down at the table next to his wife.

“I can't even describe to you how much I’ve missed you.” Judy snuggled up to her husband.

“Well, you’ll show me later.” He grinned, kissing her again.

Lizzy walked around the living room, examining the trinkets on the shelves once again. Then she went upstairs to her grandmother’s bedroom.

Regina was sitting on the floor, her legs pulled up to her chest, her forehead buried in her knees. Her shoulders trembled a little.

“Are you crying?” the baby-girl asked, stepping closer. “Why are you crying?”

“Because I feel sad.” Regina answered without looking up.

“You're sad because grandpa died.” The girl sat next to her. “Because you are alone now, without grandpa. But, you know, you should never bring yourself to tears.” She stroked her grandmother on the shoulder. “Please no more tears, okay? Look, I have a doggy.” She pulled up a toy which she had been pulling along all the time on a string. “If you click on this button, there will be music. Let's click right now?” 

“Lizzy.” she hugged the girl and burst into tears in her voice.

“No tears, please.” the baby repeated.

“Agreed.” Regina smiled through her tears.

“My dad says that grandfather is feeling very well now because he is at the same place as Jesus. And with Jesus everybody feels well.”

“Your dad speaks correctly.” The Queen sighed, stroking her granddaughter slightly on the back.

“So no more crying.” She hugged her grandmother by the neck and kissed her on the cheek. “Will you walk with me?” 

“Where do you want to go?” Regina asked.

“To our old playground.” the girl answered without thinking. “Where we used to walk until we moved to live here. I want to show my doggy to my friends. Dad just bought it for me yesterday.”

“Come on.” The Queen stood up and extended a hand to her granddaughter. “We must definitely show your doggy to your friends.”

  
THE END


End file.
